Multiverse Tournament
by Author Nicholas Drew
Summary: The greatest tournament in history, combining twenty popular anime series into one massive tournament to find out who really is the best. Watch as we analyze our contestants closely and find out who really is the best as they compete for superiority and a single wish. Give your all, brave warriors! The 100th Multiverse Tournament has begun!
1. Chapter 1: A Tournament For the Ages

**A.N: Well, what can I say, when you have a ten hour drive back home from college, you're gonna get some things done. I get it, people really want to see the One Piece Campaign. And I'm working on that. There are other things I want to write too guys. Even if I love writing Five Worlds War, I want to do other things, and this was in high demand after I announced it as one of my possible side projects. This will be a three-chapter release where we get all the buildup out of the way before the stuff you're all here for. The fights. Even so, I hope everyone enjoys these buildup chapters. It's the Multiverse Tournament, y'all!**

 **Chapter 1**

 **A Tournament For the Ages!**

 **20 Universes Unite!**

A universe that was eighteen universes on its own. Filled with powerful warriors that could destroy planets and even entire galaxies. A universe where these warriors use a latent energy known as Ki to fight. This universe is known as the Dragon Universe.

A universe where gods train champions to wear powerful armor known as Cloth. Where one's number of senses were heightened to sixth, seventh, and even eighth senses. This universe is known as the Cloth Universe.

A universe where delicious food gave greater power to those brave enough to find it and taste it. Where the world's manliest heroes fought with what was known as Appetite Energy in a time known as the Gourmet Age. This universe is known as the Gourmet Universe.

A universe where creatures known as Mysterious Beings run amok. A world where to combat these Mysterious Beings, people with great power protect this version of Earth. This universe is known as the Hero Universe.

A universe where ninjas rule the world. Where an energy known as Chakra has been weaponized for battle. Where monstrous constructs of this Chakra can level mountains with a single swing of their many tails. This universe is known as the Ninja Universe.

A universe where gods of death protect the world from the shadows. Where they wield their powerful swords to slay evil spirits and ferry good ones to the afterlife. This universe is known as the Reaper Universe.

A universe quite similar to the previously mentioned one, where the human and demon worlds are split apart. A world where Spirit Energy is power and the more power one has, the more influence they have as well. This universe is known as the Spirit Universe.

A universe where magic is power, and five mighty races are constantly locked in a struggle for survival known as the Holy War. A universe where demons, goddesses, humans, giants and fairies reign as the five dominant species. This universe is known as the Holy Universe.

A universe where the sea is the gateway to adventure. Where pirates and marines sail for dominance. Where mysterious fruits known as Devil Fruits give rise to a wide variety of powers. This universe is known as the Pirate Universe.

Another universe where magic is power. Where wizards have come together to form groups known as guilds, to find work and to make a difference in their homelands. This universe is known as the Wizard Universe.

A universe where gods of all religion reign supreme in a time of peace. This also includes devils, who are often surprisingly docile compared to how they are often portrayed in stories. This universe is known as the Devil Universe.

A particularly strange universe where clothes once again equal power. Where a mysterious race known as the Life Fibers came to this universe's Earth from space, and became the foundation for clothes becoming this world's power. This universe is known as the Life Fiber Universe.

A third universe where magic reigns supreme. Where four kingdoms—Diamond, Clover, Spade, and Heart—reign supreme, and inside of these kingdoms, wizards use their grimoires for power. This universe is known as the Grimoire Universe.

A universe that is surprisingly normal, except for the fact that the Mafia is even stronger than it should be. The Mafia's power comes from what are referred to as Flames, Flames that grant various kinds of abilities to the users. This is known as the Flame Universe.

A universe formerly of darkness and corruption, where the only light was once in the darkness, in the form of assassins who were willing to stand against a corrupt nation. Where powerful weapons called Teigus were viewed as a death sentence against normal humans. This universe is known as the Red Universe

A universe of bloody evolution, where mankind is constantly attacked by creatures of darkness known as Grimm. Where to protect themselves, humanity employs warriors known as the Huntsman, and their great powers such as Aura, Semblances, and Dust. This is universe is known as the Aura Universe.

A universe of great adventure, where those who are attracted by the many great treasures, strange beasts, and constant danger, are referred to as hunters. Hunters who employ the power of Nen to survive. This universe is known as the Nen Universe.

A universe of bizarre powers. The power of the sun, concentrated into life energy known as Hamon, which is used for an ancient martial art known as Sendō. Mysterious spirits with various powers known as Stands. This universe is known as the Bizarre Universe.

A universe where an age of heroes is currently taking place. Where mutations began manifesting themselves in people, granting them strange powers known as Quirks. This universe is known as the Quirky Universe.

And finally, a universe set in ancient times, where samurai wander ancient Japan, looking for a purpose in life. A universe where the mightiest swordsmen are feared and respected. This universe is known as Wandering Universe.

Here is a little interesting tidbit of information. These twenty universes were new discoveries, and they had those who made the discovery salivating at their power. It was beyond anything they had seen in the other universes so far.

Twenty universes with incredible power. And they were still only a small portion of the great big multiverse that made up what was known as the Multiverse. However, from this point forward, these twenty universes would become the focus of the greatest event in the multiverse, ran by a god that stood above every single divine being in existence. An event that began a decade ago, and now is the greatest source of entertainment in all of the multiverse: The Multiverse Tournament.

A single elimination tournament that brought together over a thousand of the greatest warriors in the multiverse to discover who the strongest among them truly was. Why was this tournament held? Does there have to be a reason other than it is fun? Because it was. It was simply, visceral, casualty-free fun. There was never anything wrong with healthy competition among warriors, and that was the way of the Multiverse Tournament. Healthy competition to find out who was among the best of the best…of the best.

The being who oversaw this tournament, the being known as the Supreme Overseer (but everyone just called him Lord O), took a moment to survey all twenty universes. "Twenty new discoveries, and their power far surpasses that of the previous competitors of the Multiverse Tournament. This is a truly happy day for the tournament's committee and the tournament's audience." He mused.

Lord O chuckled in anticipation. "The invitations have been sent out…by my estimation, we will have a hundred percent response rate from our prospective contestants. Nobody can refuse the possibility of having the Multiverse Tournament's prize for themselves."

Meanwhile, inside of the Dragon Universe…

Bulma Brief barely reacted as her longtime friend, Son Goku, appeared via Instant Transmission with her husband, Vegeta, the prince of all (two) Saiyans. After years of those two going off to spar and returning battered and beaten. They had been doing this ever since the end of the Tournament of Power. Every other day, Goku would Instant Transmission to wherever Vegeta was, and the two would then go off and come home battered and beaten.

Vegeta would always complain about how he did not win, but Goku would always counter with the fact that he apparently never won either. Bulma could not help but shake her head fondly at Vegeta's behavior. You either won, or you lost. There was no such thing as a tie. To Vegeta, it was just another word for losing.

Bulma heaved a sigh, while she was sunbathing on her family's personal cruise ship, as she heard the sound of Vegeta's complaining. "You damn oaf!" He complained. "I almost had you and then you just had to pull a Kamehameha with Instant Transmission!"

Goku just laughed. "Yeah, you almost had me there. But I guess it'll just have to be another tie this time."

"I hate ties!" Vegeta complained. "There's no such thing as a tie, damn it! You've either won, or you've lost! There's no in between!"

Bulma rolled her eyes at Vegeta's words. _He never fails to say that._ Bulma fondly noted. _My husband never changes deep down._

Bulma then got up from her deck chair and strutted over to her husband and Goku. Sure enough, they were just as battered as they always were. Vegeta instinctively blushed at the sight of his wife in a black two-piece bikini. Bulma smirked. Several years of marriage, and she could still get Vegeta to act like that.

"Why don't you go get in the tub, Vegeta, let the water soothe those big, Saiyan muscles of yours?" Bulma suggested.

Vegeta scowled slightly, trying to play off Bulma's affection as usual. "Where's Bulla?" He inquired of the whereabouts of their newborn daughter.

Bulma giggled. "She's with Mom and Dad in the room. Why don't you go and see her before taking a bath? I'm sure she'd love to spend some time with Daddy."

Vegeta nodded. "Very well," he said before addressing Goku, "I expect to do this again soon, Kakarot. I'm getting closer, so don't you dare back out now."

Goku grinned. "Heh, wouldn't dream of it. Have fun in the tub, Vegeta! Ooh, hey, do you have any toys you like to play with, like a rubber ducky?"

Vegeta turned with red with rage. "You simpleton!" He yelled. "The prince of all Saiyans does not play with childish bath toys."

That was actually a lie. Bulma made sure that Prince Duckworth would be joining her husband in the bathtub. The thought made Bulma want to giggle. If only Goku knew how much of a softie her husband really was.

Then, before everyone could go their separate ways, a booming voice stopped everyone in their tracks. "Greetings, people of the multiverse!"

Goku and Vegeta were immediately off guard. "An enemy?" Vegeta wondered before turning his attention to Goku. "Kakarot, can you sense any new presences?"

Goku placed two fingers on his forehead and sensed around for new energies. "No, I don't sense anyone unfamiliar." He replied.

"Do not be alarmed, I come in peace." The voice promised. "I can assure you, I have nothing malicious planned for any of you. If anything, you're going to love the proposition I have for you all."

"First, introductions are in order. I am the Supreme Overseer, but you can simply call me Lord O." And just like that, Lord O showed his casual nature regarding his title and rank in the hierarchy of the multiverse. "The universes you all live in? I watch over them all. Basically, you can think of me as God, the Almighty, or whatever title you prefer to use."

"Awesome!" Goku cheered. "He sounds super strong!"

"Idiot!" Vegeta yelled. "If he's anything like Grand Zeno, he's the last person you want to mess with."

Goku pouted while Lord O continued to speak. "Now that I have your attention. It is my pleasure to announce the 100th Multiverse Tournament, the greatest, most entertaining tournament in all of the multiverse."

Goku, Vegeta and Bulma both gasped in surprise. "Another tournament?" Bulma was in disbelief.

"Awesome!" Goku exclaimed. "We only just got done with the Tournament of Power and now we get to fight a completely new one! I wonder if Zen's friends with this guy!"

"Grand Zeno had no friends until you brought him his future counterpart, Kakarot." Vegeta reminded him. "Whoever he is, he's someone completely new."

 _I just hope it's not another tournament that threatens our very survival._ Vegeta added inwardly, not wanting to say that out loud and frighten Bulma.

"Again, you have no reason to be alarmed. This tournament won't decide the fate of your universe or anything like that." Lord O promised. "I'm just an omnipotent but also incredibly bored deity. My subjects and I hunger for entertainment."

"Now of course, I'm also fair enough to offer compensation in exchange for your participation. The prize I'm offering is certainly quite enticing to anyone who wants it." Lord O noted. "What is this amazing prize you ask? The right to a single wish. Anything you want, I will grant it."

"Not much of an amazing prize, we have Dragon Balls, and Super Dragon Balls." Vegeta pointed out.

"But our Dragon Balls are still limited in their capabilities, and the Super Dragon Balls are still in Grand Zeno's possession." Bulma reminded Vegeta. "And who knows if these other universes even have Dragon Balls. I'm willing to bet that there are plenty who don't, and a reward like that will be seriously enticing to them."

Vegeta frowned, unable to argue with that logic. Bulma then smiled. "Not like you ever needed a reason to fight, you Saiyan." She said fondly.

Vegeta smirked at his wife. "You're finally starting to understand." He said playfully, choosing not to note that he has recently found that fighting for something rather than just fighting has made him much stronger. He did not need his wife to see him as a big softie. Only Lord Duckworth was allowed to see him as such.

"Right now, I'm taking the opportunity to brand the backs of your hands with a mark. My mark. If you see it on the back of your hands, that means you have been invited to participate in this tournament. From here, it is entirely up to you if you decide to participate. However, I do require that you at least attend tournament orientation. There, you will here all of the rules, which I am hoping will not only give you a better idea of what this tournament is, and that regardless of your level of power, you have the chance at the grand prize."

"Lord O, out!" Lord O announced. "I'll see you all tomorrow! Don't worry about getting there. I'll provide you all the transportation you'll need."

With that, Lord O's voice vanished from the winds. Goku and Vegeta then looked down at the backs of their hands and saw that their right hands had a star branded on them. Goku almost squealed in excitement at what this entailed. "So awesome!" He yelled, leaping into the air. "We're going tomorrow, right Vegeta?"

"Of course we are, you idiot." Vegeta scoffed. "A Saiyan does not back down from a challenge, especially not a tournament."

Bulma sighed. "And here I was hoping things would go back to normal after all of this Tournament of Power business. Hey Vegeta, you think I'll at least be able to watch you this time? I'm sure Bulla would love to see how daddy stays in tip-top shape to keep her safe."

"If there's no threat like there was during the Tournament of Power," Vegeta responded, "then there should be no issue."

"Good, I kinda want to see just who this Lord O is anyway. The fact that there could be someone who is actually higher on the multiverse's totem pole then Grand Zeno is worth investigating."

"Hey, you better not go snooping around too deeply." Vegeta was quick to warn his wife before blushing in embarrassment. "I'd rather you not get in trouble with whoever this Lord O is, for Bulla's sake."

Bulma smiled at Vegeta's affection. She lightly smacked her husband's chest. "Hey now," she said, "I'm just as tough as my husband. How else do you think I keep Trunks in line?"

Goku groaned in disappointment. "Man, you're lucky Bulma lets you do these things without complaint, Vegeta." He noted. "I don't know how I'm going to convince Chi Chi to let me do this."

"Just tell her that she can watch you this time." Bulma told him. "You'd be surprised at how quickly she'd go for it after that."

"Huh? You think so, huh?" Goku looked at Bulma in surprise. "Well, okay then."

Bulma shook her head. _She just wants to be involved in your life, Goku._ Bulma noted. _She is your wife after all._

"I'll give that a shot," he said, placing his fingers to his forehead, "thanks for the advice, Bulma. I'll see you tomorrow Vegeta! We'll go to this place together!"

Goku vanished with Instant Transmission; his destination: his house. Vegeta groaned. "I can't stand that he acts like we're old friends." He admitted.

"Aww, but you are." Bulma teased. "No matter how much you want to deny it."

Vegeta scowled, but did not bother refuting Bulma's statement, making his wife giggle. "Now come on, let's get you in the tub, big guy. Lord Duckworth awaits. And after that, I think Bulla would love to play with her daddy."

Vegeta did not object and allowed Bulma to lead him. Yeah, if Goku knew how soft Vegeta had gone outside of the battlefield, he would just laugh and laugh and laugh.

It was not just the two Super Saiyans that had a vested interest in this tournament. From all across the multiverse, mighty warriors from all over heard the call. Regardless of their motivation, they all had one goal in mind: to fight in the tournament and win.

Lord O could not help but chuckle giddily. The brands he placed on the prospective contestants gave him an insight into their minds. A hundred percent response rate, just like he predicted. "As expected," he said, "no one can resist the temptation of my prize."

Lord O then addressed his top three employees telepathically. "So, what do you three think? Did I outdo myself or what?"

"You outdo yourself every tournament, Lord O." A formal-sounding male voice reminded his master.

"But you've definitely outdone yourself now!" A much more excited male added. "Announcing for this tournament is going to be so much fun!"

"Do you have any opinions on the matter, Haika?" Lord O asked of the lone female of the three announcers. "Is everyone aware of their responsibilities?"

"Everyone is prepared, there will be no issues from any participants." Haika assured Lord.

"Very good," Lord O said, satisfied with her answer, "are you excited as well, Haika?"

"Very much, Lord O, yes," Haika replied. "Kaji has every reason to be excited. This one is going to be our best ever."

Lord O chuckled. "The reality of the multiverse is that life is a game." He mused. "There are winners, and there are losers. And the game is only as fun as you make it. It is time we make the game of life even more fun and enticing for our new contestants."

"And you expect all of your prospects to agree to participate after attending your orientation?" The more formal sounding man of the bunch spoke up.

"I do, Daisuke." Lord O responded. "Every single one of them will agree to participate."

"My friends, this tournament, will be our greatest one ever!"


	2. Chapter 2: Gathered Together

**Chapter 2**

 **Gathered Together**

 **The Contestants Stare in Awe!**

A day passed and the prospective participants of the new Multiverse Tournament found themselves transported to the site of the tournament's grand arena, a place appropriately named: The Champion's Colosseum. A bit on the nose, but Lord O was very precise in how he named things. The Champion's Colosseum was massive in scale, meant to contain the just-under 2,000 contestants in various rooms. That was not including the stands for the spectators.

Lord O was also very precise in how he separated his new arrivals. He had everyone in rooms that could hold, at most, fifty people. And these rooms were just the tip of the iceberg that made up the Champion's Colosseum. It was indeed a giant, circular colosseum, like the Roman Colosseum, but even more massive in scale. It was colored obsidian black, giving a very regal but mysterious look.

Son Goku immediately gasped in amazement as they stared at large window. "This is so cool!" He exclaimed. "This place might be just as awesome as the Tournament of Power's arena."

Krillin, Goku's longtime friend and fellow martial arts student, shivered at the memory of the Tournament of Power. "Don't remind me of that now, Goku." He said. "That was way too stressful."

Android 18, Krillin's wife, playfully patted her husband on the back. "You say tournaments are stressful, but you were quick to join us all at the arena."

"Well, we were required to show up for orientation at least." Krillin pointed out. "Although, honestly, I definitely want to give this tournament a shot, considering there is no threat of erasure this time."

"I'm more surprised Gohan showed up," Krillin admitted, looking at Goku's oldest son, "after the Tournament of Power, I thought you'd retire from fighting again."

"Nah," Gohan smiled, "Videl and I have managed to work out a way for me to stay in shape and also keep up my career."

Videl nodded while holding Baby Pan. "Gohan's biggest concern was that he wouldn't be around much for Pan, so I came up with the idea of letting Pan watch her daddy train. She seems to love it."

Gohan blushed in embarrassment. "It is a bit hard to train in front of an audience, but yeah, Pan does seem to love watching me train. Must be the Saiyan in her." He said. "And, I can't help but want to show off to her in this tournament."

Videl giggled at her husband's admission. "Well, Pan," she said to her daughter, "do you want to see Daddy win?"

Pan immediately started babbling happily. Gohan blushed redder in embarrassment. However, everyone could tell he was happy that his daughter was his biggest fan. Piccolo, Gohan's longtime mentor, could not help but smile at him. "I should've figured that it would be your family that not only returned your fighting spirit, but helped you keep it." He noted.

Goku went up close to Pan's face. "What about me, Pan?" He asked. "Don't you want to see Grandpa win this tournament?"

Pan laughed and clapped her hands together. Chi Chi, Goku's wife, could not help but squeal in delight at how adorable Pan was. "My granddaughter is so cute," she said happily, "even if it is to fight in a stupid tournament, it's nice to see the whole family together like this."

Goku's youngest son, Goten, nodded in agreement. Not everyone was going to fight, obviously. Chi Chi and Videl would both be staying out of this tournament. Other than that, a good portion of the "Dragon Team" as they were unofficially referred to as, were here to fight. Strangely, neither Beerus nor Whis were invited to participate. They were spectators this time.

Before Goku could play with Pan a bit more, he was startled by a familiar voice. "I thought that was your energy I sensed, Son Goku."

Goku and Vegeta were immediately on guard, knowing who it was. Jiren the Gray, the ace of Universe 11 and the one who was formerly the strongest mortal in the multiverse, had dropped by to visit his old foes, flanked by Toppo, the leader of a group known as the Pride Troopers and Jiren's friend.

Goku gave Jiren a grin. "I knew you'd be invited," he said, "Jiren, I can't wait for the chance to fight you again-"

Jiren suddenly vanished, surprising Goku. It was like their first meeting. However, this time, instead of appearing behind the Saiyan, Jiren appeared in front of him, giving a friendly but competitive smirk and holding his fist out. "I too can't wait, Son Goku." He said. "This time, I will win."

Goku was shocked at Jiren's words and actions, but then realized that in this simple act, Jiren was giving Goku and his ideals his recognition. Their rematch, if they were lucky enough to have it, would be one where both men had the same idea of where strength came from were fighting. No clash of ideals. Just two men duking it out. Goku grinned and fist-bumped Jiren. "I'm looking forward to it, Jiren." He said. "But I'm not gonna lose."

Vegeta frowned. "Don't forget about me you two," he said

Jiren nodded with a small smile. "Do not worry, warrior prince, Vegeta." He said. "I look forward to seeing your growth as well."

Toppo nodded in agreement. "As am I, Prince of all Saiyans." He said. "I have learned much from our last fight. I shall win in the name of justice. This mighty fist of justice will not falter again."

Vegeta smirked, having seen both Pride Troopers' personal growth since the Tournament of Power. "Don't disappoint me." He folded his arms.

Bulma gaped in disbelief at both Toppo and Jiren. She couldn't sense energy like they could, but after spending years with people like Goku and Vegeta, she could tell who the strong guys really were. _These are the guys that Goku and Vegeta took on to win Grand Zeno's tournament? I think I have more respect for my husband right now._

"By the way, Son Goku, just so you know." Jiren spoke up again. "Universes 7 and 11 were not the only invited universes. I sense the energies from the other universes that had participated in the Tournament of Power."

"Aww, not the universes that didn't participate?" Goku sounded disappointed.

Jiren shrugged. "I cannot pretend to understand just what this Overseer's thought process is, and perhaps it is best not to. All we can do is simply fight with all of our strength."

"What I have to wonder is how we're going to be placed in this tournament." Tien Shinhan spoke up. "Let's be honest here, some of us are a lot stronger than the rest of us. It'd be not much of a tournament if we ended up fighting against each other."

"I'm sure the Overseer has accounted for this." Gohan noted.

"For all of his claims to be someone who knows and sees all, I'd expect him to have accounted for such matters." Piccolo noted.

"We'll just have to wait and see, won't we." Vegeta pointed out with a sense of finality. "There's no point in standing around speculating when everything will be explained."

Jiren and Toppo both nodded. "Son Goku, Vegeta," Jiren said with a small smile, "it was…good to see you both again. I look forward to our rematch in the near future."

With that, the two aces of Universe 11 left the area. Piccolo could not help but sweat slightly. "That Jiren," he muttered, "he's just as imposing as always."

"Yeah, but the important thing is, he looks like he's softened up since the Tournament of Power." Gohan smiled. "Dad didn't mean to, but he actually changed Jiren for the better."

Piccolo allowed a small smile to curl. "Par for the course at this point." He noted, remembering how many of Goku's allies—including him—had tried to kill him before befriending him instead.

Many other "important guests" from the other universes had arrived as well. From the Cloth Universe, four young individuals dressed in armor known as Cloths all sat calmly but also grimly, awaiting the first announcement from the Overseer. Andromeda Shun, the bearer of the Andromeda Cloth, was the first to break the silence. "It's not the same without Seiya," he said, "if he were here, he'd lighten the mood, talk about how excited he is for this tournament."

"But he's not here." Phoenix Ikki, the bearer of the Phoenix Cloth and Shun's older brother said sternly. "Seiya made his choice. You should respect it, Shun."

"Don't be so cold, Ikki." Cygnus Hyōga, bearer of the Cygnus Cloth, glared at Ikki. "Seiya did not have to suffer the fate he was saddled with. If we had been stronger, we could've actually provided him more help."

"Even so, self-sacrifice is his M.O. at this point." Dragon Shiryū, bearer of the Dragon Cloth, said sadly before adding, "Especially for Lady Saori."

"Then tell me, why is it that you're all sitting about, moping?" Ikki demanded. "Don't act so pathetic that you can't bring yourselves to show even a tenth of Seiya's resolve."

"But if you three can't get him out of your head, then might I suggest using this tournament as the opportunity to bring him back." Ikki added.

Everyone looked at Ikki in surprise. "Think about it," Ikki continued, "the right to wish for anything we want. If one of you were to win, you could wish for Seiya to be freed from his curse. Perhaps instead of moping around like pathetic wretches, you should focus your energy on winning to bring him back."

"Is that what you plan to use your wish for, Brother?" Shun asked.

Ikki scoffed. "Maybe, maybe not; there are definitely things I want more than bringing Seiya back, but I suppose if it'll get the three of you to stop moping around, I'll consider it."

Shun smiled knowingly, realizing that it was exactly what Ikki was hoping to get from winning this tournament. "Whatever you say, Brother." He said simply.

Suddenly a portal opened up, shocking the four Bronze Saints of Athena, and out stepped a very familiar face, shocking them even more. Pegasus Seiya smiled sheepishly at them all. "Er…hi?" He said.

Shiryū, Hyōga, Shun and Ikki could only gape at Seiya in disbelief.

Meanwhile, in the room housing several guests from the Gourmet Universe found themselves wondering one thing: "I can't believe there's no food here." Toriko of the Four Heavenly Kings and the man who found the legendary GOD ingredient complained.

"Cocky bastards," another of the Heavenly Kings, Zebra, growled, "they probably think they can keep food from us without any consequences."

"Or, maybe we just got here and shouldn't be so impatient." Toriko's partner, Komatsu, suggested, trying to calm the two most gluttonous members of the Heavenly Kings down. "I mean, we did just get here."

Rin, Toriko's new wife, blushed and almost suggested something dirty for Toriko to sate his appetite. Sunny, Rin's brother and another member of the Heavenly Kings, who was still very uncomfortable with the fact that Toriko was his brother in law, immediately moved to silence her. "Say that, and I swear I will use my hair to silence you." He vowed. "I do not want to hear my little sister say such things."

Rin stuck her tongue out while Coco, the last of the Heavenly Kings, blushed in embarrassment, noting how Rin had somehow become even more affectionate since her wedding with Toriko, to the point where she openly suggested things to her husband that should not be repeated.

"We should all just be patient." Komatsu repeated. "I'm sure we'll all get some delicious meals soon. Who knows, maybe we'll get a meal that's even better than GOD?"

"That's impossible," all four kings said in unison.

"Worth a shot," Komatsu sweat-dropped.

Meanwhile, a completely bald man snored loudly while kept under watchful eye by a cybernetic looking man. Genos, the Demon Cyborg and S-Class Hero would not allow anyone to disturb his master's rest. _Even as powerful as he is, Master needs to get his eight hours of sleep, and he missed out on four of those hours last night when he played video games with King for too long. I must make sure he gets the last four!_

And so, Saitama snored away…

In another room, the pink-haired kunoichi known as Sakura Haruno, could only shake her head. "I really wish we weren't required to attend this." She admitted. "Seriously, did no one think this was sketchy."

"I did," Kakashi Hatake, Jōnin of the Hidden Leaf Village shrugged while reading Make-Out Tactics, "but I also knew that if someone is capable of hitting all of us with these marks, trying to rock the boat isn't exactly a good strategy. Besides, it all seems innocent enough so far. Try to look at it from Naruto's perspective. He seems excited."

"Damn right I am!" Naruto Uzumaki declared. "We never did get to finish the Chunin Exams back then! I want to finish a tournament properly!"

"Be more like Naruto, Sakura." Kakashi suggested offhandedly.

"No thanks," Sakura deadpanned.

Meanwhile, the orange-haired Soul Reaper known as Ichigo Kurosaki just took in his surroundings, flanked by his friends. Ichigo then relaxed into a nearby seat. "It'll be nice," he said, "just having a simple competition with no real stakes this time."

Renji Abarai nodded in agreement without hesitation. "Too. Many. Wars." He added.

In a different room, former Spirit Detective-turned Makozu, Yusuke Urameshi, grinned in excitement. "Now this is more our speed, isn't it, fellas?" He inquired of his teammates.

"Hell yeah!" Kazuma Kuwabara cheered, ready to come out of retirement and compete in another tournament.

Kurama just smiled while Hiei remained silent, but inwardly he was also extremely excited for the opportunity to compete in another tournament.

Inside of another room, a young girl with strange patterns inside of her eyes had her focus elsewhere. Her thoughts were on her wayward love, Meliodas, who had returned to his roots as one of the strongest and most feared demons in history. "Meliodas," she muttered longingly, hoping that this tournament would provide her the opportunity to be with him again.

Diane, the giantess—who was currently at a normal size—and the Serpent Sin of Envy, was quick to reassure the girl. "Don't worry, Elizabeth." She said. "We've already made up our minds, if any of us win, we'll wish for the captain to go back to what he was before Conrad."

"Thank you, Diane." Elizabeth said softly. "I fear it may not be that simple."

Diane looked at Elizabeth in concern. "Meliodas became that way out of rage and desperation to break the curses our parents put on us." Elizabeth reminded her friend. "The only permanent fix is to wish for these curses to be undone."

Diane sighed. "Yeah, but if we make that wish, there's no guarantee the captain will go back to what he was before." She noted.

Elizabeth could not help but want to weep. "I'm sorry to drag you all into my problems like this." She said. "I'm sure you all have something you want to wish for, and you're wasting your time with me."

"It's not a waste though." Diane pointed out. "You're our friend, Elizabeth, whether it's the Princess Elizabeth we all got to know, or the Goddess Elizabeth that you are right now."

"Diane is correct, Sis-Sis." Merlin, the Boar Sin of Gluttony, joined in on the conversation. "Not only that, but we also need to consider this wish as an opportunity to end the upcoming Holy War before it starts."

Diane narrowed her eyes. "Yeah," she said, "I'm sure Ludoshel probably has different goals in mind if he wins."

"Ludoshel cannot be allowed to win this tournament, none of the Goddesses can be." Elizabeth said with surprising sternness. "They may be our allies, but that doesn't mean we should trust them freely. The memories of the last Holy War…remain fresh in my mind to this day, regardless of my current incarnation."

Diane shivered, remembering how ruthless Ludoshel had been in those memories she saw through the Drole, another giant. Yeah, they definitely could not allow that monster to win. Elizabeth tightened her hands. "I understand his rage over losing everything to the Demon Clan," she noted, "even Mael was lost, his own brother. But, that did not give Ludoshel the right to act as he did."

Merlin nodded in agreement. "We're going to win this tournament." Merlin promised. "We're going to put everything back the way it was before. I promise, Sis-Sis."

Diane snickered at Merlin's nickname for Elizabeth. Merlin turned red with rage. "Do you want me to turn you into a toad, Diane?"

"Sorry, sorry," Diane said in-between snickers.

Meanwhile, Monkey D. Luffy let out a cheer, flanked by his shipmates, the Straw Hat Pirates. "This is gonna be awesome!" He yelled. "I'm gonna win this and wish for lots and lots of meat!"

"Why not just wish for-" Usopp began.

"Don't finish that sentence, Usopp, you know how Luffy feels about that." Vinsmoke Sanji interrupted his friend.

"Are you gonna wish for a harem, Cook?" Roronoa Zoro taunted Sanji.

"A harem?" Sanji yelled indignantly. "Watch it, Mosshead, I'll have you know that I intend to stick with one woman when I'm married!"

"Apparently not including the one you were almost married to." Zoro taunted further.

"That was an assassination attempt and you know it, I had to run away from that marriage, not that Pudding was in any way at fault for that whole mess in the first place!" Sanji pressed his forehead against Zoro's.

Nami heaved a sigh. "Nice to see we're already back to the way things were before." She muttered sarcastically.

"Personally, I think it's wonderful, it's like Sanji never left in the first place." Nico Robin pointed out to her friend.

In another room, everyone present watched in disbelief as flames danced around Natsu Dragneel's body. "I'm fired up now!" The Dragon Slayer yelled. "I'm gonna win this tournament! Just watch me!"

"Natsu exploded…" Natsu's animal companion, Happy, muttered in awe.

"I wonder if Natsu has even thought about what he would wish for if he won." Celestial Wizard Lucy Heartfilia spoke up.

"You actually think he's given it any thought?" Ice Devil Slayer Gray Fullbuster deadpanned.

"Master Makarov suggested we wish for a lot of money." Titania Erza Scarlet suggested.

"We're not fighting this tournament to line the master's pockets, Erza." Gray immediately denied her.

"Master's orders, Gray." Erza pointed out in a tone that left very little room for argument.

"Yeah, well, those orders are kinda stupid." Gray argued back. "There are fewer dumber battle cries than: 'for the money!'"

Meanwhile, Red Dragon Emperor and up-and-coming Harem King, Issei Hyoudou could only sigh in contentment as he rested his head on the lap of Rias Gremory, who fondly stroked her beloved's hair. "This is a great way to pass the time." He said dreamily.

Rias only nodded in agreement while the rest of Issei's harem gazed at the two in jealousy. Akeno Himejima then acted. "Alright, Rias, out of the way, my darling's head must be in my lap now." She said in a surprisingly chilling tone.

Rias just smiled. "Issei is mine, and last time I checked, _I'm still the king_ of this peerage." She pointed out.

As Akeno and Rias calmly competed to see where Issei's head would go next, Issei simply went to La-La Land.

Meanwhile, Ryuko Matoi, formerly the bearer of Senketsu, could only sit and wonder how she could possibly compete in this tournament. _I still have my scissor blade, but how far can I go without Senketsu?_ She wondered.

In another room, Asta, a Magic Knight for the Black Bulls, could not contain his excitement. "YEAH!" He screamed. "This is gonna be epic!"

Noelle Silva, Asta's friend and another member of the Black Bulls, could not help but admonish her crush. "Please keep it down, Asta." She said. "Try to act a bit dignified for a change…"

Noelle sighed. "Besides, with the recent events involving the Eye of the Midnight Sun, I'm not sure we should be participating in this tournament. All these attacks on the kingdom and we're off galavanting in some tournament."

"It can't be helped." Magna Swing, another member of the Black Bulls, shrugged, raising his arm where the mark is. "When there's someone who marks you with whatever the hell this is, you don't have much of a choice. Besides, at least we're at a calm point between these incidents involving Eye of the Midnight Sun. I just hope nothing happens while we're away."

"If something does, we'll just kick ass all the way back to the kingdom." Yami Sukehiro, Captain of the Black Bulls, reminded Magna. "It's no big deal. That's what we do."

"YEAH!" Asta screamed again. "You better be here too, Yuno! It's time we settle things, my rival!"

Meanwhile, Tsunayoshi Sawada, the man who was to become the Tenth Boss of the mafia family known as the Vongola, could not help but look around in nervousness. "This place is kind of intimidating." He noted.

"Tsuna!" Reborn, Tsuna's hitman tutor pulled on his cheek. "Show some confidence, you are to become a mafia boss, so act like it."

"Owowowowowow!" Tsuna yelled in pain. "Sorry, Reborn! Sorry!"

Alone in another room, the great assassin, Akame, the woman who killed the unbeatable General Esdeath, sat in silence, alone. Or at least, she though she was alone. A portal suddenly opened up and she looked to see who would be joining her. Almost immediately, Akame wanted to weep at the sight.

Meanwhile, Oscar Pine closed his eyes and allowed the soul he was sharing a mind with to take control. And with that, Professor Ozpin of Beacon Academy began speaking to his former students. "Now listen, I know how you all feel about being here." He said. "And trust me, I'm not exactly comfortable either. However, I choose to look at this as a growth opportunity. You all need to get stronger for the upcoming battle with Salem."

His students remained silent while Qrow Branwen just took a sip from his flask in exhaustion. Ruby Rose, Huntress and leader of Team RWBY, spoke up. "Come on guys!" She said. "He's right. Think about it, after everything that happened at Haven. We could use this tournament opportunity to train for what's ahead. I want to make a difference, I want to set things right, and if this tournament can make me strong enough to do that, I'm going to give it a shot."

Ozpin could not help but smile as Ruby's words had the desired effect. She really was amazing.

Meanwhile, Gon Freecss smiled with glee as he reunited with his best friend, Killua Zoldyck. "I can't believe I'm seeing you again already." He said.

Killua smiled. "It's great to see you, Gon." He said, only not embracing his best friend because of his aversion to open displays of affection, only to grunt and then smile uncomfortably as Gon embraced him.

Leorio Paradiknight and Kurapika both smiled at the reunion between the two friends. "It's been a long time since we've all been together like this." Leorio noted.

Kurapika smiled and nodded. But, inwardly, he found himself wondering if this would be the last time he would be able to be with his friends like this. He cared deeply for them. But he also believed that when the time came, they would hold him back from destroying the Phantom Troupe.

In another room, three men with very similar looks stared each other down. Joseph Joestar, the man who defeated the Ultimate Life Form with one hand, was quick to voice the elephant in the room. "You guys look just like me and I don't like that!" He yelled.

Jonathan Joestar shrugged. "My apologies, friend." He said. "It appears I simply have one of those faces."

 _What a bizarre day this is turning out to be._ Jonathan thought to himself. _I was just a day from going on my honeymoon with Erina and she encourages me to attend this instead. Still…perhaps I can use this as a way to bring back everyone who died because of the mask. I must admit, it sounds a bit satanic…but is it really wrong to not use a free wish with no strings attached to bring back those you've lost? Baron Zeppeli…Dire…Father…_

Jotarō Kūjo remained silent. _They do look just like me._ He noted. _That can't be a coincidence._

"My name is Jotarō Kūjo, what's your name?" Jotarō introduced himself.

"Ah, a Japanese person. I must admit, your clothes are quite strange, but it is nice to see a nation that is typically isolated trying to interact with people." Jonathan said.

Joseph Joestar looked at Jonathan in disbelief. "What the hell are you…" he trailed off.

"My name is Jonathan Joestar of the noble Joestar Family," Jonathan pleasantly introduced himself to Jotarō, "nice to meet you, Jotarō."

 _Oh. My. God._ Joseph thought to himself in disbelief. _This is so not happening._

"My name is Joseph…I…don't know my last name." Joseph said, uncomfortable with introducing himself to his grandfather.

Jotarō gave Joseph a deadpan expression. _What a pain, who does he think he's fooling, huh?_ He wondered. _Nice to see the old man never changed a bit._

"Ah, an orphan? I'm very sorry to hear that, Joseph." Jonathan said sympathetically as he looked at Erina Joestar, who was standing behind him, gazing nervously at Joseph and Jotarō. "I couldn't imagine being without family, or anyone I love for that matter."

"Agreed, Jonathan." Erina nodded as she moved closer to embrace her husband.

 _G-g-g-granny Erina?_ Joseph wanted to faint at the sight of his grandmother, young. _Oh my God…_

Meanwhile, Izuku Midoriya, the ninth user of the mighty Quirk, One For All, took in his surroundings, slightly intimidated. His classmates from UA Academy were all doing the same. It had been a few days since the Culture Festival, and now he had to deal with a tournament.

Izuku knew he would be participating, however. He had to. He needed to take every opportunity he could to grow and become a proper Symbol of Peace like his mentor and idol, All Might was. He owed it to All Might, and the recently deceased Sir Nighteye to continue to grow.

Finally, Kenshin Himura meditated in silence. The former Battōsai the Manslayer wondered to himself if he would end up participating in this tournament. Sure, it was his choice, but Ms. Kaoru would definitely want him to, if only to keep his skills polished and advertise the Kamiya Dojo for new students. Who knows, perhaps this tournament would be the great way to show that the sword is not just a tool for killing, but perhaps a tool to protect, like what Ms. Kaoru wanted?

With all of the contestants now gathered—not just the ones mentioned, but many, many others as well—it was time for the entertainment to truly begin.

"Welcome, brave contestants!" The mighty Lord Overseer's voice suddenly rang out, getting everyone's attention. "I'm so glad you've decided to join us…especially considering it was mandatory."

"But enough about that! It's time to treat you all like the honored guests you are!" And with that, servants began to enter the rooms with trays of delicious looking gourmet food, much to the joy of several gluttons in this large crowd of contestants.

"And now, I shall explain to you just what this Multiverse Tournament is!" Lord O continued.


	3. Chapter 3: Tournament Rules Explained

**Chapter 3**

 **Tournament Rules Explained**

 **Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain**

"First, allow me to take this opportunity to thank you all for coming. Even if it was mandatory, I'm sure you all thought of trying to avoid me and my summons. So, I'm glad that the response rate was at a hundred percent." The Lord Overseer said gratefully. "There are fewer things that make me happier than getting to see the people I've invited. I may be basically a god, but I'm also a big fan of a lot of you."

"I've watched all of your exploits ever since we discovered all of your universes, and I have to say, you've all impressed me greatly. It was why I made sure to make your 20 universes the main attraction this time around."

"Now, why don't I tell you about this great event." Lord O began. "See, I began the Multiverse Tournament a century ago with a very simple idea in mind: to bring together the greatest fighters and give them the chance to receive a reward for all the work they've put into their growth."

"And now, I have nearly the entire multiverse as an audience, I thought everything was perfect, until I came across your worlds that is."

"Because you see, your levels of power far surpassed that of the warriors from previous tournaments." Lord O revealed. "All of my expectations of what it meant for mortals to have power was completely shattered in an instant. And it is my hope that your power can provide myself and my subjects the greatest entertainment this tournament has ever seen."

This caused some murmuring amongst the crowd of prospective contestants. "Now, I don't expect you to just hand over your valuable time to little old me. This will be a long tournament after all. In fact, I'll level with you all. This tournament will be a long one. If you choose to accept your invitation as a participant, you will be kept from your world for quite some time. For some of you, this is understandably not ideal. Some of your universes are at peace, others, not so much; which is why I took steps to make sure neither side of the conflict could take advantage of anyone's absence. I can assure you, major players from both sides of the conflict have been invited to participate."

Elizabeth's eyes widened at the implication. "Meliodas…" she said softly.

"Believe me, I'm only in it for the fun, I could care less about your Holy Wars and all that jazz." Lord O said. "Battles, at their core, should only be about deciding who is superior, who's the best. And that's why I love tournaments more than anything. They are battles in their purest, purest form."

"Now, before you go and think you can sit out the tournament, gamble your enemies will participate and go back home to tip the scales of conflict in your favor, let me ask you this: do you really want to gamble them winning the wish?" Lord O inquired.

A pregnant silence fell over the room. "And yes," Lord O continued, "the wish is real. You win the tournament, you get one wish of anything you want. Unlike some, I could care less about what people desire. After all, no matter the desire, to me if someone works hard enough and weathers all challenges, they deserve what they win."

"So if you don't want your foes to get the wish, work harder than them." Lord O told the contestants. "And maybe even get the wish yourself, because it is quite enticing."

"People have wished for numerous things over the years," Lord O continued, "money, fame, power, a kingdom, you name it, they've wished it and obtained it. But even if you're not the type to have materialistic, earthly desires, I'd say it's still within your best interests to keep people you're…not particularly fond of from winning."

Vegeta folded his arms. "Frieza is here," he realized, "this Lord O fellow is craftier than I gave him credit for."

"Bringing in undesirables to force the hand of people who have more purer desires." Piccolo noted. "He's either crafty or insane."

"If Frieza is here, we have to participate, right?" Gohan spoke up. "We can't let someone like him get the wish. He could wish for immortality, like he wanted to back on Namek."

"Well, I plan to participate regardless." Goku said. "But if Frieza is here I'll just beat him up again."

"Not if I get my hands on him first, Kakarot." Vegeta said. "That beatdown I gave him on Earth wasn't enough. That beatdown was for all of the Saiyans he killed on Planet Vegeta."

"What's the beating you want to give him in this tournament for?" Goku asked.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "For murdering my father." He growled.

"Now that I've really gotten your attention, I shall ask you the question right now, will you participate in the 100th Multiverse Tournament?" Lord O inquired.

There were no verbal responses, but Lord O's marks allowed him to sense their emotions. In their hearts, they had all agreed to participate. Lord O chuckled. _A hundred percent response rate, just as I predicted._ He thought in satisfaction.

"Your hearts cannot lie, friends, and so, on behalf of my subjects, myself, and my staff, I welcome you all not only as my honored guests, but as contestants of the 100th Multiverse Tournament. Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!"

Immediately, the The Champion's Colosseum lit up, much to the amazement of everyone present. Flames danced around lines of torches. Confetti blasted into the air. "SO COOL!" Monkey D. Luffy said in amazement.

"Yes, yes, welcome." Lord O said. "And with that, the tournament has begun. As such, it is my duty to explain the rules to you all."

"Rule #1 is the simplest of rules. This tournament will be single elimination." Lord O explained. "Once you are eliminated, that's it. You are out. Better luck next time."

"Rule # 2, any attempts at interference in the matches will be met with immediate disqualification." Lord O said sternly. "I will not have anyone violate the sanctity of a one on one battle."

"Seems honorable enough." Joseph Joestar nodded in approval. "Even if I'm all for using whatever tricks I have at my disposal, fights between two people should be kept between them."

"Rule #3, in matches, any kind of fighting style is allowed. That includes weapons as well." Lord O revealed. "Now, I know some of you may object to that, considering you've participated in tournaments that have banned weapons. However, I will do no such thing in this tournament. Not only is this unfair to people who fight with weapons, but it is also very unrealistic. The fact of the matter is, some warriors use weapons. Do you expect me to truly say I've found the greatest warriors in the multiverse when I ban people who use weapons?"

"I guess that makes sense." Goku shrugged.

"Still, it does add a layer of danger to this tournament." Gohan pointed out.

"Rule #4," Lord O continued, "to reassure people after a controversial rule like that, allow me to say that killing is not allowed. Believe me, I love a visceral fight as much as the next guy. But we are here to see who is the best fighter, not the best killer. Fighters will be given warnings if they are taking it too far and don't mean to. However, any attempts at outright murder will be met with disqualification."

"There will be judges and medical personnel on the scene to judge whether things are going too far. However, I should also note that there must be a level of responsibility that lies with the contestants as well." Lord O told the participants. "There is no shame in giving up. We will only step in if you most certainly cannot continue or if your opponent tries to kill you, but we will not step in if you continue trying to fight past your limit. From there, you need to decide for yourself if pride or your own wellbeing is more important."

"Rule #5, to ensure fair play, match pairings will be randomly chosen before every match." Lord O revealed.

"Whoa, that means we won't have a chance to prepare for our opponents, unless it's someone we know." Ochaco Uraraka, of Class 1A realized.

"On the flip side," Izuku Midoriya spoke up, "your opponents won't have the chance to prepare for you either."

"Rule #6, to ensure fair and balanced matches, we have placed you all in various tiers based on your level of strength." Lord O revealed. "Believe me, some of you are definitely not ready for some of the people I've invited here. For those of you who are in the highest tiers, I congratulate you in advance for simply reaching such a level of power."

"Rule #7, these matches have no time limit. They will simply continue until we declare a winner. After all, most real battles don't have time limits. They simply continue until their's a winner as well."

"Rule #8, certain individuals are outright banned from participating. You know who you are. Having folks like yourselves participate would be extremely unfair."

"I think we now know why Lord Beerus isn't involved." Bulma Brief realized. "Or Whis, for that matter."

"Aww," Goku complained, "but I really wanted another round with Lord Beerus."

"Rule #9, and this is more of an administrative thing than anything else." Lord O admitted. "There will be some strange numbers at the start for some tiers, numbers that frankly do not fit the mold; which is why when we reach those tiers, there will be prelims to cut the numbers down to something more appropriate. You will no what said prelims are when we get to that point."

"They're deliberately keeping us in the dark to prevent us from planning a strategy." Killua Zoldyck noted. "Clever guy, this Lord O."

"And this is the final rule, this is something I just have to say to you all." Lord O admitted. "Have fun. No matter who your opponent is, have fun, give your all, show the multiverse your incredible power. Even if the stakes are personally high to a lot of you, there is still no reason for you not to enjoy yourselves. So have fun!"

"He says that, and yet some people who could wish for some truly awful things have a chance at winning." Lucy Heartfilia, Celestial Wizard of Fairy Tail noted. "I don't like that."

"Some people are just twisted. Not necessarily evil; just twisted." Titania Erza Scarlet pointed out to Lucy. "Remember, Gajeel was never evil, and neither was Juvia. They were both simply twisted individuals due to the machinations of someone who was evil."

Gajeel Redfox and Juvia Loxar both nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we were." Gajeel said, shrugging.

"I think Lord O is the same way. He's twisted, but he is also neutral in the truest sense of the word." Erza noted. "Either way, he's right. Deep down in our hearts, we've already agreed to this tournament. So let's all just do our best to win."

"YEAH!" Natsu Dragneel screamed in excitement. "I'm fired up now!"

"See, Natsu has the right attitude." Erza pointed at the Dragon Slayer.

"Yes," Lord O spoke up again, "give your all and have fun! And with that, I hereby declare that the tournament has officially begun. I will now take this opportunity to transmit the information on your placements in each tier. Afterwards, we will begin with the Superhuman Tier. From there, we will work our way upwards from lowest to highest tier. In other words, from Superhuman, to Urban, to Nuclear, to Tectonic, to Planetary, to Stellar, to Galactic, and then we cap it off with Multi-Universal."

With that, information was instantly transferred into the minds of each and every contestant. "Awesome!" Goku exclaimed. "We're at the very top!"

"Well of course we are, you damn fool." Vegeta said smugly. "Saiyans don't settle for anything but the best, especially Saiyans of our caliber. This will be where we settle things, Kakarot."

"I'm looking forward to it, Vegeta!" Goku grinned.

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the spectrum, Katsuki Bakugō of Class 1A was furious. "What the hell?" He screamed. "Why am I in the second lowest tier? What kind of crap is that?"

"It's not just you, Bakugō," Shoto Todoroki narrowed his eyes, "I think most of us were placed in the Urban Tier. I was."

Izuku was immediately freaking out. "Just what kind of monsters are in the higher tiers if Kacchan and Todoroki are in the second lowest tier?"

Uraraka was in disbelief as well. "Good point," she said, "that's actually pretty scary when you think about it."

Izuku could not help but picture the kinds of monsters that were in the higher tiers. Then he thought about who would be in the same tier as him and a majority of his classmates. _Tomura Shigaraki,_ he thought of his dark opposite. The man who was brought up by All Might's archenemy, All For One, _will this be where we settle things?_

"Now that I've given you all a moment to process your placement in the tiers, will the 64 participants of the Superhuman Tier be ready to be called down for their matches?" Lord O requested. "We are beginning quickly. As you can see, the audience has already begun to file inside of the Champion's Colosseum."

Some of the participants filed to the giant windows in front of them to see that the stands were already indeed filling up. "Look at them all!" Luffy said in excitement. "So cool!"

"No point if we're not going to have an audience." Zoro grinned.

"Time to impress some ladies!" Sanji waved his arms in excitement.

"Now for the opening ceremonies!" A booming female voice spoke up.

At that moment, a transparent screen appeared above the arena, and then showed the image of a beautiful silver-haired, green-eyed woman in a sparkling blue dress. "Who is she?" Sanji demanded with hearts in his eyes.

"Welcome, honored contestants and audience, to the 100th Multiverse Tournament. I am your emcee and chief umpire, Haika." The beauty introduced herself

The participants could hear the catcalling of some of the men inside of their rooms. "You've all heard the rules, and you, the audience, have had the opportunity to place your bets earlier." Haika said. "So now, it's time to begin! I'm now going to turn it over to two of my favorite boys, your commentators and analysts: Daisuke Aomaru and Kaji Akamaru! Dai, Kaji, take it away boys!"

"Thanks, Haika," Daisuke said, "it's a great day to begin the Multiverse Tournament. Kaji, any thoughts about the matches ahead?"

"I'm just so excited, Daisuke," You could hear Kaji grinning happily, "I'm with Lord O when he says this could very well be the best tournament we've ever had! The contestants are just awesome. They've come from all over the multiverse, and they are ready to rock! Let's get started already, I can barely stay seated, because I'm so excited!"

"That you are, partner." Daisuke said. "And I most certainly agree. It's time to begin the Multiverse Tournament! So, without further ado, I'm going to turn it back to Haika to get things back underway!"

"Thanks, Dai." Haika smiled her award-winning smile. "Ladies and gentleman, a second screen in appearing on the monitor above me. In the next 30 seconds, our computer will randomly choose two names to fight it out in the first match of the Superhuman Tier!"

A second screen did indeed appear. Everyone watched in wrapt attention as names started being rapidly scrolled through. "And so," Haika continued, "the first match will be…"

 **A.N Here's an interesting little fact. I'm actually going to be choosing most of these matches at random to properly simulate a randomized tournament. The only exceptions will be side characters with very little screen time that will be participating. I hope everyone enjoyed these three buildup chapters. Next time, we begin the actual tournament.**


	4. Chapter 4: The Fool's Stunning Return

**Chapter 4**

 **The Superhuman Tier Begins!**

 **The Fool's Stunning Return**

"The first match will be," two names appeared on the board, one of which shocked Jotarō Kūjo, "Iggy vs. King Chappa!"

Jean Pierre Polnareff, who had accompanied Jotarō to the room they were currently in, gaped in disbelief. "Hold on, he's not talking about our Iggy, is he, Jotarō?"

Jotarō gritted his teeth. "I've got a feeling he is." He admitted.

"But Iggy is dead, along with Avdol and Kakyōin." Polnareff pointed out before adopting a guilty expression on his face. "After all, Iggy and Avdol both died for me."

At that moment, several screens sprang up on the windows inside of their room. "For those of you wanting a better view of the match, we have screens up in the contestant boxes." Haika spoke up. "Now, let's see our two competitors enter the battlefield!"

The screens in their room then panned over to a black and white mutt that made both Jotarō and Polnareff gape in shock. "It…it is Iggy!" Polnareff explained. "What the hell is going on here? Iggy died fighting Cool Ice!"

Jotarō narrowed his eyes. "Is the Overseer capable of resurrecting the dead to compete in this tournament?" He wondered.

"Then this wish of his really is capable of anything." Polnareff realized.

"Can we please address the elephant in the room?" Joseph Joestar spoke up. "Why is a dog competing in this tournament?"

"Jotarō! Polnareff!" The two men in question turned to see the Joseph Joestar they knew frantically enter the room, having run all the way from his seat in the stands. For the sake of convenience, we shall refer to this Joseph Joestar as Old Joseph.

"Hey Gramps," Jotarō said, "looks like we've got quite the development on our hands."

"I'll say, Iggy's alive!" Old Joseph exclaimed. "Do you think that means Avdol and Kakyōin are here as well?"

"Hard to say, Mr. Joestar." Polnareff replied.

"Huh?" Jonathan and Joseph both gasped. "Mr. Joestar?"

Jotarō sighed. "What a pain in the ass," he muttered, "Polnareff, why'd you have to call him that?"

"Huh, I always call him that." Polnareff noted. "What's wrong?"

"Seriously?" Jotarō looked at him like he was stupid. "You do know how these other guys have introduced themselves, right? Put two and two together."

Unfortunately, Polnareff had been so mesmerized by the colosseum, he had neglected to notice that Jonathan Joestar and a younger Joseph Joestar were in the same room. And now, as a result, he had accidentally let slip that there was some odd time paradox going on between all of them. In other words, things were about to get even more bizarre.

"The hell are you two on about?" Old Joseph asked. "Jotarō, I know Polnareff's not the brightest bulb in the room, but that's no reason to be so harsh with him."

Jotarō heaved an annoyed sigh. "Just look off to the side at the two men next to you, Gramps." He said. "Then you'll understand why."

Old Joseph looked off to the side. "What…about…them…"

Old Joseph trailed off when he saw his younger self. His mouth slowly fell open. Joseph looked at his older self in confusion. "Er…what's wrong? Do I have something on my face?" Joseph inquired.

Old Joseph then looked at Jonathan and found himself remembering the pictures Granny Erina showed him when he was younger. And finally, he looked at the woman close to Jonathan, and quickly realized it was his Granny Erina, alive again, and also young. With all of this hitting him at once, it quickly became clear that this was a bit much for Old Joseph to handle, as evidenced by him slapping his hands to his cheeks and freaking out. "OH MY GOD!" He yelled.

Joseph screamed. "What? What the hell was that for?" He demanded.

Old Joseph pointed his prosthetic hand at Joseph, who looked at it in shock, recognizing it in an instant. "You, you're me!" Old Joseph exclaimed.

Joseph then did the same as Old Joseph. "Oh my God!" He yelled. "I turn into an ugly old man!"

Lisa Lisa, Joseph's Hamon Coach and mother, sighed. "Everyone ages eventually, JoJo." She said.

"Yeah, except you, Lisa Lisa!" Joseph found it a bit awkward to call the woman 'Mom' after all these years. "I thought Hamon was supposed to slow down the aging process! What the hell happened here?"

"This is all…very confusing." Jonathan spoke up after being stunned into silence for so long. "Are you telling me…you're all Joestars?"

Jotarō sighed. "I was hoping we could avoid revealing all this, considering the implications of time paradoxes and all that crap." He admitted. "But yeah, we're all Joestars."

Jotarō then gestured to Joseph and Old Joseph. "These two are your grandson, from different time periods."

Jonathan and Erina both blushed at the fact they had grandchildren, knowing the implications of such. "And I'm your great-great grandson," Jotarō continued. "I know it's a bit strange, but it's nice to meet you, Grandpa Jon."

Then, Robert E.O. Speedwagon, Jonathan's best friend whom had accompanied him and Erina, spoke up. "Hey, fellas!" He yelled. "That mutt's opponent is about to be introduced. Perhaps we should deal with this after the match?"

"Ah, yes, thank you Speedwagon." Jonathan regained his composure. "I apologize, Jotarō. This is a bit much to take in. I promise, we'll all have a nice chat after the match, as a family. You do want to watch your…umm, dog fight, right?"

Jotarō nodded and turned his attention back to the screens. They then panned over to the former Martial Arts Champion, King Chappa, who was looking at Iggy in disbelief.

Goku spoke up from his room. "Hey, I remember that guy. I fought him back when I was a kid at the Martial Arts Tournament where we met Tien and Chiaotzu. This should be fun to watch, I haven't seen that guy's techniques in awhile!"

Tien Shinhan shrugged. _It might not be,_ he noted, _we've all grown so far beyond King Chappa's level. Still, he shouldn't have much trouble against a dog._

On the arena's battlefield, King Chappa voiced his displeasure at fighting Iggy. "What the hell is this all about?" King Chappa demanded. "You expect me to fight a mutt?"

"He is your opponent, so yes." Haika responded.

"Is this a joke?" King Chappa demanded.

"Not really," Haika shrugged, "you can choose not to fight him if you think it's beneath you, but you will be disqualified."

King Chappa sighed. "Is animal cruelty simply not a crime in this world? In any other time and place, I'd be arrested for beating up this dog."

Iggy seemed to scoff at the notion, confusing King Chappa. "Well, if there are no objections, take your places, combatants." Haika ordered as a platform beneath her suddenly rose up. "Remember the rules and have fun!"

"Here we go, folks, the first match of the Multiverse Tournament!" Kaji gleefully exclaimed. "Iggy vs. King Chappa!"

"Iggy was a street dog in America before being discovered by the Joestar Corporation." Daisuke explained. "Don't let his small stature and the fact he's a dog fool you. He's every bit as dangerous as those he ended up allying with. He's fast, he's tough, and he's clever too. Little tip on fighting him folks, keep your eye on the ground."

"Meanwhile, King Chappa was a former World Martial Arts Tournament Champion!" Daisuke now did a quick rundown of King Chappa's background. "He has fallen from glory but now seeks to rise back to the top. He's a disciplined martial artist with a very fast and powerful secret technique."

"I don't know what you're _thinking_ right now, dog." King Chappa addressed his opponent. "But I know you'll be _feeling_ pain. I apologize ahead of time. Hurting animals isn't something I'm fond of, so I'll try to make this quick."

The dog seemed to scoff again, much to King Chappa's surprise. _Am I being sassed by a dog?!_

Old Joseph heard King Chappa's words over the monitors and frowned. "He has no idea what he's getting into." He noted. "Iggy's going to make short work of that fool."

"Oh, the dog's going to win, really?" Joseph frowned at his older self. "Is it because King Chappa's black? Don't tell me I grow up into an old racist!"

"What?!" Old Joseph exclaimed angrily. "I'll have you know I'm still good friends with Smokey!"

"I never thought I'd see two versions of someone arguing. This is already so weird." Polnareff muttered.

Vegeta, meanwhile, could not help but voice his own opinion on the matter. "His energy is so low compared to ours." He noted. "I wonder if he even knows what Ki is."

"I doubt he does." Goku admitted. "A lot of our opponents from back then were just really good at martial arts, kinda like Hercule."

"Still," Vegeta said, "even he should be able to beat a dog."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Gohan spoke up, "that dog is here for a reason."

"Are you saying that dog is actually something special?" Vegeta inquired.

"I'm saying we shouldn't underestimate him." Gohan replied. "Let's just watch the match and see what happens."

At that moment, Haika let out the signal. "Begin!" She yelled.

King Chappa was quick to close the distance between himself and Iggy. "This will be over quick!" He exclaimed, moving his arms about quickly. "Eight Arms Fist!"

The ground started to shake around Iggy as King Chappa seemingly created eight fists, when in reality, he was simply moving his hands so fast they were creating afterimages that created the illusion of six extra fists. Then, a horrifying construct that looked like a giant demon dog appeared beneath Iggy.

King Chappa gasped as his attack broke through the body of the beast, only to find himself stuck in what appeared to be earth of various kind. "What is that thing?" King Chappa demanded.

"And so, Iggy has summoned his Stand, The Fool!" Daisuke exclaimed. "Most people think of it as a construct made of sand, but it's also made from dust particles."

"Of course, we did add _some_ sand to give Iggy a fair chance in this tournament, considering The Fool is a construct of sand rather than a psychic manifestation like most Stands." Kaji noted. "We've added a lot of cool surprises to give some of our contestants a fair chance they would not have otherwise."

"His Stand?" Izuku Midoriya was in disbelief as he watched this display before him. "Is it like a Quirk?"

"It's like Pixie-Bob's Quirk, but it almost appears as though that dog is directly controlling that thing." Shoto Todoroki noted before addressing Kōji Kōda. "Kōda, do you think you can use your Anivoice to communicate with him after this match? I think we all would like to find out more about these Stands."

Kōda, the quietest member of Class 1-A, was quick to wave him off with some hand signals that said: "Don't get me wrong, I want to, but the problem is, I'm in the same tier as that dog! I don't think he'd give me the information and I definitely don't want to lie to a cute little dog!"

Todoroki sighed. "I suppose that makes sense." He said. "Don't worry, Kōda, just focus your efforts on winning when the time comes."

King Chappa looked at Iggy, who was smirking down at him. The wheels on The Fool's feet then started turning as it barreled forward with King Chappa trapped inside of its sandy body.

"Damn it, I can't move!" King Chappa complained as he was swept off his feet. "Let me go, mutt!"

Iggy ignored King Chappa and used The Fool to drive the man straight into the wall. King Chappa gasped in pain from the impact. "Oh, and that's a nasty blow right there from Iggy!" Daisuke declared.

"King Chappa's going to feel that one in the morning!" Kaji added.

King Chappa groaned in pain as he tried to recover from Iggy's devastating first move. "I…didn't realize I would be dealing with opponents like this." King Chappa muttered.

 _Even so, I agreed to this tournament because my name has been synonymous with the phrase: "one and done!"_ The former champion thought to himself. _Once upon a time, I was the best of the best, and then my fame and respect went away faster than I could blink!_

 _It's not like I hold a grudge against those whose victories against me caused my respect to dwindle. That's just the way of the road; sometimes you win and get respect, sometimes you lose the fight, and with it, all the respect you had._

 _And when that happens, you do your best to win it all back!_ King Chappa declared with a surprising amount of resolve. _With this victory, I will wish to be returned to my prime and return to the World Martial Arts Tournament a champion! And I won't let this dog stand in my way!_

Roaring, King Chappa wrenched his arms free from the sandy trap he was in. Iggy looked at King Chappa with newfound interest. "Since you're no ordinary dog, I'm going to feel less bad about this!" King Chappa declared as he moved his palms forward with strikes so fast it once again looked like he had eight arms. "Eight Palms Fist!"

Iggy then surprised King Chappa by using The Fool to push away from King Chappa, avoiding his Eight Palms Fist. King Chappa panted, taking note of the marks on his chest from that push. "I don't know what the hell you are, but this ain't normal. Then again, neither were demons like King Piccolo and those kids of his."

Iggy seemed to smirk at King Chappa. "I have my pride as a champion martial artist, dog." King Chappa told him. "I will win this tournament!"

Iggy had The Fool rush King Chappa again. King Chappa narrowed his eyes. _It's a four-legged creature, just like the dog._ King Chappa noted as he crouched down to prepare a great leap. _That means its weak point is above!_

Iggy looked up in surprise as King Chappa leapt into the air above The Fool. "It's over, dog! This time, I won't miss!" King Chappa declared. "Eight Arms Fist: Death From Above!"

Old Joseph folded his arms. "The fool has left himself wide open."

"Just so we're clear, Gramps, you're referring to King Chappa and not Iggy's Stand, right?" Jotarō inquired.

"What do you think?" Old Joseph responded.

The Fool suddenly reared up. Iggy dug his paws into the sandy body of The Fool to stay on. The Fool then spat sand and dust at King Chappa, blinding him and taking him out of his attack. "Cheap shot!" Eijirō Kirishima of Class 1A yelled in disapproval. "That dog fights dirty! He's not very manly!"

"It's a valid strategy," Todoroki noted, "this is a tournament where anything short of killing goes, don't forget that."

"It's over." Izuku realized. "He's in midair and blind. He's wide open!"

The Fool then raised one of its large claws and swiped at King Chappa. King Chappa yelled in pain as he was struck by the claw and driven into the ground.

"Another nasty blow from Iggy!" Kaji yelled. "Damn, that dog is vicious with a capital 'V.'"

"It comes from growing up on the streets. Animals that aren't domesticated never forget their hunting instinct. And Iggy was definitely not domesticated." Daisuke pointed out. "The only question now is how will King Chappa respond, because that attack definitely did some damage to the former champion."

Then, much to Iggy's surprise, King Chappa was quick to get back up, even though he was bleeding from the blow. "Damn," King Chappa cursed, "how did I…not take that into account?"

King Chappa prepared his arms for another Eight Arms Fist Technique. "I…can't lose." King Chappa declared. "I need to…return to my former glory. What worth am I…if I'm not a respected champion?"

King Chappa then coughed up blood and fell forward. _Is it just…not meant to be?_ He wondered as he hit his stomach and lost consciousness.

Haika immediately appeared next to King Chappa. She looked at his immobile form and made the call. "King Chappa is unable to continue. The winner is Iggy!" She declared.

The crowd went wild. Jean Pierre Polnareff was also quick to cheer for Iggy as well. "Wait to go you damn, _alive_ dog!" He yelled. "You showed that guy what for!"

"I can't believe a dog won a battle in this tournament." Jonathan said in disbelief. "And just what in the world was that strange creature he summoned?"

"There's a lot you don't know about, Grandpa Jon," Jotarō told him, "I'll only tell you about it if you want to know, otherwise…well, I'm not really one to mess with the future, unless the future in question is a piece of crap."

Meanwhile, Izuku Midoriya got to his feet. "Deku?" Ochaco Uraraka inquired of her friend/crush.

"I'm going to find the people who's world has that weird power." Izuku told everyone. "I…I need to know just what we're dealing with here."

"And that's the first knockout of the tournament! A quick, but satisfying start!" Daisuke declared.

"I don't know if it was that satisfying, I mean, Iggy kinda had it in the bag." Kaji pointed out.

"Well, we don't like to write anyone off, but it was certainly true that King Chappa was at a distinct disadvantage." Daisuke admitted. "While he was a powerful martial artist once upon a time, his knowledge of tournament fighting was strictly reserved for fighting enemies who adhered to the same fighting styles he knew. Iggy, meanwhile, in spite of his species is an incredibly skilled user of his Stand. In fact, arguably, The Fool is one of the more dangerous Stands in existence because it is made entirely of sand. The only way to beat Iggy is to hurt his tiny little body, and you have to get past that behemoth first. And as we've just seen, its speed and strength are not to be trifled with."

"And not only that, but King Chappa just didn't have the endurance and power to adjust to fighting something completely different in Iggy." Kaji added. "Again, we don't like to write anyone off, but there was no way King Chappa could've beaten Iggy. Still, I'll give him credit, he did figure out what was arguably Iggy's only weakness: attacks from above. Most four-legged critters are vulnerable to attacks from above. That's why the birds of prey are such feared creatures in the animal kingdom."

"Ah, but we certainly cannot forget Iggy's victory over one such bird of prey." Daisuke pointed out. "With clever ingenuity and impressive guts, Iggy managed to win that one for all of the animals low on the food chain."

"Very true, in the end, King Chappa was taken on one trip to the beach he would rather forget." Kaji joked.

Daisuke paused, clearly awkward about that joke. "Noted. The winner is Iggy, who advances to the next round, where he will be joined by thirty-one other contestants."

"Don't go anywhere, folks, we'll be right back with the next match, once again, chosen at random. Stay tuned!" Daisuke declared.


	5. Chapter 5: Hercule's Dilemma

**Chapter 5**

 **Hercule's Dilemma**

 **Understanding the Worlds That Exist Outside**

"Our next match is the Fallen Angel, Dohnaseek, and the formerly deceased member of the demon team, Team Rokuyukai, Roto!" Haika announced as the names revealed themselves on the board.

This caught Issei Hyōdō's attention. His head shot up from Xenovia Quarta's lap while Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima both pouted off to the side, hating the fact that Xenovia now had Issei's head in her lap. "Dohnaseek, I remember that name." He said. "Wasn't he part of…"

Asia Argento's eyes widened. "Raynare's group. I remember Dohnaseek too."

Rias regained her composure and began to conduct herself in a more professional manner. "It appears we've underestimated the depths of the Lord Overseer's power if he is able to resurrect the dead. I know for a fact I vaporized him and his two cohorts to dust outside of the church."

"And now he's back," Issei muttered, "and if he's back…then Raynare's back."

Rias immediately embraced Issei from behind. "You don't have to worry." She promised her beloved. "You are stronger than her, in every way. She no longer has any power over you. Not only that, but if she tries anything, I have no issue with returning her to dust."

Issei smiled and was quick to give Rias a quick peck on the lips. "I don't want you to get disqualified for my sake." He said.

"Darling, you are all I need." Rias told him with all the affection she could muster. "I don't mind being disqualified for your sake, because I already got my wish, you."

Rias then rested Issei's head on her bosom. "You are my darling Issei, the love of my life. Remember that I will do anything for you."

"Same to you, Rias," Issei said affectionately as he nestled his head in the breasts he loved so much.

Meanwhile, Kurama found himself letting out spirit energy subconsciously, remembering that Roto had been the damn demon that had threatened his human mother. Kazuma Kuwabara almost instinctively backed away, feeling Kurama's sheer rage. However, he immediately calmed down and checked on his friend, visibly concern. "Are you okay, Kurama?" He asked.

Kurama's eyes widened, realizing he was letting his temper get the better of him, calmed down and smiled at Kuwabara, grateful for the moral compass of the group. "I am now, thank you, Kuwabara." Kurama said gratefully. "My apologies, it appears I still haven't forgotten him. I had hoped to have buried that brief part of my life for good when I turned that man into a flower bed."

"Well, it looks like he's back." Yūsuke Urameshi shrugged before trying to add a silver-lining. "Hey, look on the bright side, if you're lucky, this Donut guy will take him out for you and you won't have to worry about him."

"It's just too bad killing is not allowed." Kurama said darkly.

"Don't even think about it, Kurama." Hiei said, surprisingly showing himself as the voice of reason before revealing just why he was doing so. "I want to fight you too. It wouldn't help if you were disqualified for murdering that worm."

Kurama smiled at Hiei. "I'll keep that in mind Hiei."

Meanwhile, Jotarō Kūjo let a rare smile grace his lips, satisfied with Iggy's victory. "That's the ill-tempered mutt we all know and love."

Jonathan Joestar gaped in amazement. "How could a dog have done something so…amazing?" He wondered

"That is more than I can handle, Man." Joseph Joestar admitted. "Dog's are not supposed to do that kind of stuff. Dogs hump and walk away!"

"How dare you, and you're supposed to be my grandson!" Jonathan exclaimed. "Dogs are steadfast companions! Why, I had a dog once upon a time by the name of Danny, and he was a loyal friend!"

"What happened to him?" Jotarō could not help but want to know more about his great-great grandfather.

Jonathan sighed sadly. "Dio Brando set him on fire." He said grimly, still troubled by what happened to poor Danny.

Even Jotarō looked a bit disturbed by that statement. _Nice to see Dio never changed from a hundred years ago._ He thought sarcastically.

"Anything else you'd like to tell me about, Grandpa Jon?" Jotarō inquired curiously.

Jonathan gasped. "Ah, yes, that's right, we promised we'd talk as a family after your…dog had his match." He said with a smile. "Very well, descendant of mine, let us chat together. After all, we are family, are we not?"

Jotarō nodded. "That we are," he said before turning to Old Joseph, "what do you say, Gramps, you want to get in on this?"

Old Joseph nodded. "I must admit, getting the chance to meet my grandfather is quite appealing."

Jotarō turned his attention to Joseph. "What about you, Young Gramps, you want to take part in this little family chat too?" He inquired.

Joseph gave Jotarō a deadpan expression. "First of all, do not call me Young Gramps again. I only _just_ married Suzi Q. I am way too young to be called 'Dad' let alone 'Gramps.'" Joseph told him.

At that moment, the Joestars and their various friends and family heard the sound of a young voice clearing his throat. They turned to see a not-so-intimidating looking boy of about fifteen or sixteen entering their room. "Umm…I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Izuku Midoriya inquired, flanked by Ochaco Uraraka, who had wanted to make sure Izuku did not get in any trouble with any shady people. She wanted her crush to stay safe.

Jotarō raised an eyebrow at this and approached the meek-looking Izuku. "You are, actually." He admitted. "But, I'll give you the benefit of doubt and assume you have a good reason for doing so."

Izuku and Ochaco were immediately sweating at the sight of Jotarō Kūjo. Who is this guy, and what the hell did his mama feed him? That was what they were wondering. "Well, umm, I was asking around," Izuku said, "and I was told that the people who knew about those weird powers that dog was using resided here."

Jotarō nodded. "You heard correctly, kid." He said.

"Well, umm, what I was wondering was…well, what was that power?" Izuku found himself reverting to his old, shy and nervous self in the face of the intimidating Jotarō.

Jotarō raised an eyebrow at Izuku's statement. "You want to know what that power was?"

Izuku nodded. Jotarō smirked, unable to resist teasing the kid. "You know, that's not exactly preferable, considering the situation we're in. After all, you're asking me to share the secrets behind power that could give you and your friends an advantage in the fight."

Izuku sputtered nervously at this, knowing Jotarō was right. Ochaco was also nervous. She was not expecting him to pull that kind of trick. Jotarō's smirk widened before shaking his head. "Easy there," he said, "I'm just messing with you. But I am serious though, you can't really expect me to hand over the secrets to our power without something in return."

Izuku then regained his composure surprisingly quick and nodded in agreement. "You're right, I can't expect something like that."

"How about this," he continued, "in return for giving us the basics of that weird power, I'll give you the basics behind our world's power, Quirks."

Jotarō grinned. Izuku now looked much more confident than before. He liked the look of it. This kid…there was more to him than meets the eye. "Now that's more like it," he said, "what's your name?"

"My name is Izuku Midoriya," Izuku introduced himself properly before addressing Ochaco, "and this is my dear friend, Ochaco Uraraka."

Ochaco waved pleasantly at Jotarō, still a bit intimidated by the giant of a man. Jotarō nodded in satisfaction. "My name is Jotarō Kūjo." Jotarō introduced himself. "And I guess you could say that my powers…are quite bizarre."

At that moment, an incredibly muscular spirit appeared behind Jotarō. Izuku and Ochaco shrieked in terror at the sight of the spirit. Joseph clapped his hand to his face. "OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!" He screamed repeatedly.

Jonathan was just as surprised. "Jotarō, you have a spirit like your dog?" He inquired in surprise.

Jotarō nodded. He then addressed Izuku and Ochaco. "This is what is known as a Stand." He gestured to the spirit behind him, his Stand. "My Stand is known as Star Platinum. Each Stand has very unique powers, and I can assure you, each and every Stand is incredibly dangerous."

Izuku and Ochaco gaped in shock. "Then, the dog's Stand…" Izuku trailed off.

"Iggy's Stand is known as The Fool," Jotarō explained, "as you saw, it was entirely made of sand and could manipulate the sand around it."

"Fair warning," Jotarō said, "you take a Stand User on, any Stand User, you're going to have a hell of a time fighting them."

Izuku nodded in understanding. "Thanks for the tip." He said.

Jotarō then gave Izuku a hard gaze. "Now then," he said, "I gave you information on my world's powers, I believe you owe me information your world's powers."

Izuku nodded again. "Right, information shouldn't just be shared freely." He said. "Okay, Kūjo, you've shared your information, now we'll give you ours."

"Our world," Izuku explained, "has what is known as Quirks, or superpowers. We live in what is known as an age of heroes where 80% of the populace possess these Quirks. And those who use their Quirks in the service of the public are known as heroes. Those who use their Quirks to endanger the populace are known as villains."

Jotarō nodded in understanding. "Uraraka and I, we're students at the top hero school in Japan, known as UA High." Izuku continued. "We're training to become great heroes, just like those who came before us."

Jotarō nodded again, smirking. "Okay, Midoriya," he said, "thanks for the information. You've given me plenty to think of, and I'm sure I've given you plenty to think of as well."

"Yes," Izuku nodded, "thank you, Kūjo, it was great for this opportunity to share information. I…uh, hope we can have an opportunity to share more as this tournament goes on."

Jotarō shook his head. "That may not be a good idea, Midoriya." He noted. "If I had to guess, I'd say there are plenty of you Quirk users that I could fight in the near future, and I'd hate to give away too much on accident and leave myself at a disadvantage."

Izuku gasped. "Er…fair enough," he said, realizing his mistake, "I mean, as far as I can tell, a lot of people I know are in the same tier, so if you're in the same tier, that could be trouble."

"And what tier are you in, Midoriya?" Jotarō inquired.

"The Urban Tier," Izuku replied.

Jotarō smirked. "What a coincidence, I am too," he noted, "you know what that means, right, Midoriya?"

Izuku nodded, completely serious now. "I do," he said, "that means there's a chance that we could end up facing off, and it'd be best if we didn't give each other any sort of advantage."

"Kūjo," Izuku said to him, "I'll find out how to beat your Stands on my own. I intend to win my tier."

Jotarō nodded, satisfied with Izuku's answer. "That's a damn good look you've got there, Midoriya," he admitted, "you definitely look like you want to win. So I'll just say that I'm not going to make things easy for you, because I intend to win the Urban Tier."

Izuku nodded. "Then we have nothing left to say to each other." He noted before turning to Ochaco. "Come on, Uraraka, we got what we needed."

"Hey, Midoriya," Jotarō said to Izuku, stopping him before he could leave, "let me ask you one last question."

Izuku looked over his shoulder. "What is it, Kūjo?" He inquired.

"I have to know, what would you use your wish for if you win?" Jotarō inquired.

Izuku paused for a moment before saying with complete seriousness. "A world where everyone has Quirks. That way, no one will ever have to suffer the feeling of powerlessness ever again. That is my wish."

Ochaco gasped, not expecting a wish like that from her crush. Jotarō nodded. "I won't ask you why you want that, and simply assume you have a good reason for the time being." He said. "Just know that my wish will be to bring back some old friends from the dead. Old friends who were taken before their time."

Izuku nodded. "I'm well aware that a lot of people here have pure wishes like that." He said. "Honestly, I would've been surprised if people didn't."

"So what do you intend to do with that information?" Jotarō inquired.

"I want to fight regardless." Izuku admitted. "I know it sounds selfish, but I think my wish deserves consideration too."

"I don't think it's selfish at all." Jotarō told him. "You must have a good reason for thinking that 20% that's Quirkless needs to have a Quirk."

Izuku nodded and left with the stunned Ochaco. "You really think that's not selfish?" Jean Pierre Polnareff was surprised.

"A kid with powers wants those who lack power to have some so they don't have to feel weak." Jotarō reminded Polnareff. "I can't think of something like that as selfish, especially when you consider the motivation."

"Motivation?" Polnareff looked at Jotarō in confusion.

Jotarō nodded, having already figured Izuku out. "Either Midoriya is just that nice and wants to do something good for a portion of his society that's powerless and vulnerable, or there's more to his story than meets the eye."

"Hey, chaps!" Robert E.O. Speedwagon suddenly yelled. "The match is over, that gray-skinned fellow got a good licking from the chap with black wings!"

Everyone looked to see a victorious Dohnaseek standing over Roto, who looked like Swiss cheese, courtesy of the Fallen Angel's holy spears. Haika was quick to make the call. "Roto is unable to continue, the winner is Dohnaseek."

"That was hard to watch." Daisuke muttered.

"Yeah, it was kind of hard for it to be entertaining, with how one-sided it was." Kaji added. "Roto was definitely not suited for this kind of opponent. Dohnaseek was a Fallen Angel, the worst kind of nightmare for Roto, who's not only not much of a fighter, but also a demon. Those spears aren't for show folks, they are holy weapons, and kryptonite for guys like Roto. He never stood a chance."

"Never," Daisuke said grimly, "the winner is Dohnaseek."

"Okay, let's move onto the next match! Now! Now! Now!" Kaji said eagerly.

"You heard the man, get those names out and randomize 'em." Daisuke ordered. "Let's do this."

The names quickly ran through, revealing the next two contestants. "Here we go, Hercule Satan vs. Shuriya!" Daisuke announced.

Videl's mouth dropped open in disbelief. "Wait, what," she said flatly, "why is Dad here?"

"Oh, I didn't know Hercule was in this." Goku was now more interested.

"That's bad, Kakarot," Vegeta pointed out to him, "that moron is going to get himself killed. You have seen some of the opponents in this tournament so far, right? Nowhere near a Saiyan's level, but definitely not someone he can beat."

"Hey, come on Vegeta," Gohan tried to defend his father-in-law, "he was a World Martial Arts Champion once."

"Yeah, in tournaments none of us participated in." Vegeta pointed out.

Gohan tried to respond to that, only to fall silent. Videl heaved a sigh. "So this is why he was acting all secretive. For crying out loud, Dad, did you not realize what you were getting into?"

"Have faith in him, honey." Gohan nervously tried to reassure her. "I'm sure he's got some sort of plan."

Unfortunately, Gohan was unable to convince himself of that…

Meanwhile, on the arena's battlefield, Hercule Satan, the "World Martial Arts Champion" and the "Savior of Earth" strutted out onto the battlefield, dropped a large bag next to him and began chewing the scenery. "Yeah!" Hercule yelled. "Yeah! The champ is here! The savior has arrived!"

"Umm…is he supposed to be in this tournament?" Kaji whispered to Daisuke.

"I…don't question the Lord Overseer's methods." Daisuke responded simply.

Kaji snickered. "Good answer," he said before getting back on track, "anyway, folks, the…World Martial Arts Champion, Hercule Satan! Master of the…ugh, Dynamite Kick and…Megaton Punch."

"And we have his opponent, a pawn of the pure-blooded devil, Riser Phenex of the Phenex Family, Shuriya!" Daisuke announced.

At that moment, a girl dressed in a belly dancer's uniform arrived, shocking Hercule. "Gah, what the hell is that?" He demanded. "That can't be part of regulations!"

"He says that and yet we just saw a dog and a man with black wings fight in two separate battles." Piccolo noted. "You'd think after everything he's been through, he'd know better by now."

"That is my dad for you." Videl said in resignation.

Meanwhile, with the Gremory peerage…

"Hey, check it out," Issei Hyōdō said from his position inside of Rias's chest. "That guy is a human."

"Then he's done for," Ravel Phenex smirked, "no human could beat a devil in a fight. Shuriya will crush him."

"Hey, Ravel," Issei frowned, "don't forget a lot of us started out as human."

"I…I know that, fool." Ravel blushed. "But none of you are human anymore. You've all become devils. And you're not even that anymore, you're basically a dragon now."

"Well, don't forget about Cao Cao," Issei pointed out, "that guy was a jerk, but he was also a beast. He's probably here too."

"Well, then maybe there is some power behind this blowhard?" Yūto Kiba spoke up. "I mean, he was mentioned to be a martial arts champion. And if he's good enough to get an invitation, maybe he'll surprise us?"

Hercule continued staring at Shuriya, visibly confused by her presence because of her attire. "Are you sure you're supposed to be fighting?" He inquired. "I mean, if you're dressed like that, you've got to be the ring card girl, right?"

Shuriya narrowed her eyes in anger at Hercule's statement. "What? Was it something I said?" Hercule wondered.

Haika heaved a sigh, knowing there was no way she could stall this any longer. Shuriya looked like she wanted to drive Hercule to the brink of death for that statement. "Begin!" She yelled, stepping aside and allowing the two to fight.

"A ring card girl, huh?" Shuriya growled. "I'll have you know I choose to dress like this!"

Fire suddenly ignited on her hands. "And there's the Phenex Peerage power! Pyrokinesis!" Kaji excitedly exclaimed.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Hercule yelled fearfully. "You shouldn't play with fire like that, Missy!"

"Oh just shut up!" Shuriya yelled, tossing the fireball at the martial arts champ, making him shriek frantically as he dodged. "Do you not realize what the hell you're dealing with you dumb ass? I'm a damn devil under the command of Riser Phenex!"

"A devil?" Hercule paled.

Videl sighed. "I know that look. That's the: 'oh crap, I just bit off more than I can chew' look. I've seen that look on him so many times."

Indeed, all Hercule could say was. "Oh crap, I just bit off more than I can chew!"

 **A.N: Yeah, I know, some of these fights are going to be off-screen, but only the ones where both character abilities aren't well known, or they're not necessarily direct fighters like Roto. And let's be honest, who the hell wants to read a fight with a guy who's only ability is blackmailing people. People who've watched the Dark Tournament from Yu Yu Hakusho and watched the "fight" with Kurama and Roto will know what I'm talking about. Hope everyone enjoyed this buildup to what will most likely be mostly a Hercule chapter. And frankly, I'm okay with that. I've never written things Dragon Ball related before, but I've always wanted to mess with Hercule.**


	6. Chapter 6: Frights Galore!

**Chapter 6**

 **Frights Galore!**

 **Mr. Satan Flees in Terror and a Chainsaw Revs Up**

Hercule Satan let out several girlish shrieks as he dodged fireballs from Shuriya with surprising speed. Then again, Hercule was good at avoiding certain death, which was still a great skill to have in this tournament, even though killing was not allowed.

"Am I still a ring card girl now, jackass?" Shuriya yelled.

"I'M SORRY!" Hercule screamed in fright, dancing around the fireballs, desperately trying to stay alive…again, in a tournament where killing was banned. But hey, crazy devil chick dressed like a belly dancer starts throwing fireballs at you, what the hell would you do, huh?

Unfortunately, that crazy devil chick dressed like a belly dancer had no intention of slowing down her assault on the so-called champ. "Hyah!" Shuriya yelled, tossing fireball after fireball. "Dance you piece of crap, dance! Let's make you the freaking ring card girl now!"

Videl watched in utter terror as her father danced around in fear of being burnt by a literal devil. She hid Pan in her chest, not wanting her child to watch her grandfather get hurt. Gohan reassuringly placed his hand on Videl's leg and rubbed it. "Everything's going to be fine." He promised. "Your dad's a lot smarter than people give him credit for, and besides, it's not like they'd actually let Shuriya kill him."

"I know," Videl said, "but look at him, Dad clearly doesn't have a plan."

"And besides," Videl gestured out in front of her, "the more this drags on, the more belligerent Buu gets."

Goku and Vegeta were holding down the pink blob of a demon known as Mr. Buu. "Bad sexy lady is hurting Hercule!" Buu screamed. "Buu wants to kill bad sexy lady!"

"Buu, you can't!" Goku yelled. "You don't want to get disqualified. You want to wish for all those delicious candies, right?"

"Damn it," Vegeta gritted his teeth, "we shouldn't be having this much trouble with him! We're both much stronger than this dumb pink blob!"

"Vegeta, don't use the d word to describe Buu!" Yamcha screamed frantically, not wanting to see Buu go on a rampage.

"Buu want to kill bad sexy lady!" Buu insisted.

"Buu, no!" Goku said. "For once, please don't kill!"

"But Buu want to!" Buu insisted.

"It looks like we've got a dance-off instead of an actual fight." Kaji cackled in delight. "Man, this ain't much of a fight so far, but damn this is hilarious."

"You know that as announcers, we're supposed to be completely unbiased, right?" Daisuke deadpanned.

"Aww, you're no fun, Dai." Kaji giggled. "Come on, let loose and laugh a little at the dancing 'martial arts master.'"

"I'm not laughing, Kaji." Daisuke said.

"We've been doing this for a long time, I'm going to get you to laugh if it kills me, Dai." Kaji told him with a grin on his face.

Daisuke heaved a sigh and got back to announcing. "So, Hercule seems to be doing more dancing then fighting right now. Here's hoping he comes up with a plan soon."

Shuriya suddenly sprouted her wings and flew towards Hercule, attempting to strike him with a fiery punch to the face. Hercule yelped girlishly and avoided the attack, albeit barely. _Holy crap, this is crazy._ He thought. _I figured there'd be people like this at this tournament, and it's definitely no smoke and mirrors causing all this, but this is insane!_

Hercule looked around at his audience, wondering just how many of his fans were in the audience, watching him. _This is bad,_ he thought, _even if there are none in this colosseum, all my fans are definitely watching. I can't let them down. My reputation would be ruined if I let this lady beat me!_

 _Not only that, but if I'm here, Goku and the others are probably here. And if they're here, then my little girl and granddaughter are here too. I'm shaking in my damn boots right now, but I can't let them down._

 _I'm still the World Martial Arts Champ, Hercule Satan!_

Hercule then stood, surprisingly brave in the face of his opponent. "Okay, Missy, that's enough of a warm up!"

"A warm up?" Shuriya raised an eyebrow.

Hercule then started playing up the crowd to let any of his fans that were watching know he was okay. "You put on a good show, Missy, but I'm afraid you'll never catch me!" Hercule declared. "I will say this, you've given me a great chance to test out my new secret technique: The Mr. Satan Fake Retreat Special…I'm still working on the name."

Shuriya gave Hercule a deadpan expression. "Uh huh," she said, clearly not believing him, "and what does the stupidly named technique do?"

"It lulls you into a false sense of security into thinking you've got me on the ropes, but in reality, I'm the one who's got you!" Hercule declared. "In fact, I've had you since the start of this fight!"

"You were screaming like a bitch." Shuriya pointed out. She so did not have time for this guy's crap. "If you think I'm falling for that, you're as dumb as you are cowardly."

"Ha-ha!" Hercule laughed grandly. "That's what you think! Well, what you don't know is, I'm not just a martial artist! Just recently, I've become a singer, and what sounded like screaming to you, was actually vocal warmups!"

At that moment, even some of the contestants from other worlds who were watching this were starting to catch onto the fact that Hercule Satan was full of crap. Ichigo Kurosaki spoke up, basically saying what was on everyone else's mind. "He cannot be serious with that excuse."

Hercule pointed to the sky. "Fans of Hercule, and all the little Satans out there!" He declared. "I am doing A-OK!"

And with that, people started cheering for Hercule. "He…definitely knows how to work a crowd." Daisuke muttered.

Hercule then looked over Shuriya's shoulder to see the bag he had brought to this match. _I brought some stuff to this fight because I knew I'd be facing off against people like this belly dancer._ He thought to himself. _Granted, I didn't think these guys would be that scary, but I've got some gadgets for this kind of situation._

"Okay, no more of this crap!" Shuriya yelled. "Time to end this!"

With that, Shuriya created two balls of fire in her hands. "Take this!" She tossed them.

"Tuck and roll!" Hercule yelled, rolling out of the way of the attack.

Hercule began running past Shuriya. The pawn narrowed her eyes. "What are you up to?" She demanded, lighting her foot on fire and kicking at Hercule, who rolled underneath the attack.

Hercule then reached the bag. "Fans of the champ!" Hercule yelled. "Know that in a fight against a foe like this, everything is permitted! And that includes using tricks to counter tricks!"

With that, Hercule reached into the bag with both hands. Shuriya growled. "So that's why you brought that damn bag?" She demanded.

"Makes you wanna punch me, doesn't it?" Hercule grinned.

"Oh, I'm going to do more than punch you, you damn Satan-wannabe!" Shuriya yelled, flying towards Hercule, lighting her fist on fire. "I'm going to burn you to a damn crisp!"

Hercule grinned. _Gotcha,_ he thought to himself, tossing something into the air as soon as Shuriya was ten feet from him.

Shuriya gasped in shock at the object. "A _grenade_?!" She yelled in disbelief as the grenade exploded in her face while Hercule ducked and covered.

Videl's eyes widened in disbelief. "I never thought I'd see my dad pull a grenade in a fight."

"It looks like Hercule has finally caught onto the fact he can't win in a straight-up fight." Tien Shinhan folded his arms before adding with a deadpan expression. "Probably could've used that wisdom when he tried to kick Cell repeatedly."

Hercule grinned as Shuriya reeled from being blasted with a grenade. He then took a jetpack out of the bag. "Since you seem to like flying around on those bat wings, I think I'll level the playing field!"

Hercule quickly started the jetpack and rocketed towards Shuriya. "Megaton Punch!" Hercule yelled, punching Shuriya square in the face, knocking her backwards.

It should be worth noting, however, that the reason why Shuriya was reeling from Hercule's grenade earlier, and as a result was off-balance and ripe for a punch, no matter how weak it was. It was Hercule, after all.

Hercule then rocketed backwards and reached back into his bag, revealing that he had taken some capsules from Capsule Corp.

"Did my dad sell Hercule capsules?" Bulma Brief asked in disbelief.

"Does…that make your dad an arms dealer?" Videl wondered. "Because there's no doubt what my dad is going to use those for."

Hercule pressed on the capsule and tossed it at Shuriya. Shuriya gasped in surprise as the capsule exploded into a girder that fell onto her, smashing her into the ground. "The hell is this?" Shuriya demanded. "Did this giant ass girder come out of this tiny thing?"

"Capsule Corp. sweetheart!" Hercule taunted. "Best damn company on Earth!"

"I've never even heard of Capsule Corp., I live on Earth!" Shuriya yelled.

Bulma, meanwhile, took out her phone and read a text from her dad. "Huh, Dad says he gave Hercule a bunch of capsules for free advertisement…go figure." She muttered.

Shuriya growled and lifted the girder off of her. "I am going to burn you to a crisp without killing you, human!"

Hercule smirked and took advantage of the fact that Shuriya's hands were occupied. "And another Megaton Punch!" Hercule punched Shuriya in the stomach, making her drop the girder on her feet.

Shuriya yelped in pain and pulled her feet from underneath the girder, jumping around in pain. Hercule then pressed a button on his jetpack and rocketed forward at greater speeds then before, screaming in fright, as he had actually underestimated how powerful the jetpack actually was.

However, all he needed was the momentum from this boost to land the final blow on Shuriya. "My signature move!" Hercule regained his composure and yelled. "Dynamite Kick!"

Hercule spun around and kicked Shuriya right in the face, taking advantage of her lack of balance and the increased momentum from his jetpack and knocking her to the ground. At that moment, everyone's mouths dropped open in unison, realizing what may have very well just happened.

Shuriya was no longer moving. She had been knocked out cold by Hercule's kick. Haika—who was clearly in disbelief over what had just happened as well—ran over to Shuriya to confirm her defeat. "Shuriya is unable to continue," she said, "the winner is…ugh, I can't believe I'm about to say this…Hercule Satan."

Not a single sound was made. Everyone was in utter disbelief at what they had just witnessed. Then, a chant began, one that made Izuku Midoriya's mouth drop open in disbelief.

"Satan! Satan! Satan!" The audience chanted.

"They know what they're chanting, right?" Izuku muttered.

"…I was honestly not expecting this." Daisuke admitted. "Kaji, any thoughts?"

"Well," Kaji said, clearly shocked as well, "I think we all tend to forget that Hercule did actually win a martial arts championship. That means, for all his…flaws…he's definitely pretty strong, and Shuriya does have a bad habit of underestimating her opponents."

"Not only that," Daisuke regained his composure to add his two cents to the conversation, "but Hercule also chose to take advantage of our rules, and brought capsules and a freaking grenade of all things to a fight. It pays to be prepared folks, and when you hang out with people who can blow up planets…well, you get the idea."

"So in the end…well, I've got nothing witty to say." Kaji admitted. "I'll just say it, Shuriya lost to Hercule-freaking-Satan. That means the winner is Hercule Satan. He advances to the second round."

"YEAH!" Hercule yelled, uncaring of the fact that the announcers were in utter disbelief of the fact he had actually won the match.

Videl, meanwhile, was too shocked to applaud. Also, if she applauded, she would have dropped Baby Pan. "Way to go, Hercule!" Goku declared, happy for the man's victory and letting go of Buu.

Buu jumped up and knocked Goku backwards, cheering for his best friend's victory. "Go Hercule! You beat bad sexy lady!"

Vegeta shook his head. "He's lucky that's the opponent he was saddled with." He noted.

"Ugh," Videl groaned, "Dad has a lot of explaining to do. He does realize that he's going to be dealing with people stronger than that Shuriya, right? I have half a mind to tell him to drop out before he hurts himself against a person much stronger than her."

"Come on, Videl," Gohan smiled nervously, "I'm sure Hercule knows what he's doing. He did manage to pull out a win here, didn't he?"

"Hey, check it out," Krillin spoke up, "they're announcing the next match!"

"The next match in the first round is…" Daisuke began. "…Hanta Sero vs. Nel, another pawn of Riser Phenex's peerage!"

Hanta Sero of Class 1A at UA Academy stood to his feet and gave his classmates a thumb's-up. "Well, guys, wish me luck." He said. "I'm gonna do Class 1A proud with this match."

Izuku was quick to give Sero all the support he needed. "Do your best, Sero," he said, "I think you'll do great!"

Most of Class 1A echoed similar sentiments. Sero smiled and nodded. "Thanks, let's do this!" Sero declared as he confidently strode towards the battlefield.

Katsuki Bakugou watched as the man who had been a member of his cavalry team during the UA Sports Festival left the group. "Hey, Bakugou," Mashirao Ojiro spoke up to the explosive student, "Sero was on your team during the cavalry match. What do you think his chances are of winning?"

Bakugou shrugged. "Sero's Quirk isn't exactly as suited for combat as mine, Kirishima, or Icy Hot's, but he's skilled at using it regardless. His technique makes him dangerous, probably what got him into UA in the first place."

Izuku nodded in agreement. "Technique can be very important in hero work. The only question is, can Sero properly use his techniques to work out a win. This tournament, while encouraging all kinds of fighting styles, has a slight preference for raw power, considering we're trying to find out who the strongest is."

"In cases like these," Izuku continued, "what will be the deciding factor is if Sero is skilled enough with what he has to overcome raw strength, and that goes for just about anyone who's more of a technical fighter than a power fighter."

"I think what we're all wondering, Midoriya," Shoto Todoroki spoke up, "is if you think Sero in particular is good enough to pull it off."

Izuku thought it over. "My gut instinct is yes," he said, "Sero's Quirk is very good at incapacitating people, and that's great for a tournament that bars killing. And he's definitely proven himself skilled with it. He did almost throw you out of the ring, Todoroki."

Todoroki nodded. "If my Quirk wasn't so powerful, Sero might've actually won that fight." He admitted.

"However," Izuku continued, "his Quirk's weakness needs to be taken into account, and we haven't even seen who his opponent is, this Nel person."

Everyone had to agree with that; they could always count on Izuku to offer a fantastic assessment about Quirks.

At that moment, Hanta Sero stepped out into the arena, raising his hands up in the air and waving to the crowd, clearly eager to be there. "Hanta Sero, ladies and gentlemen," Daisuke introduced, "a first year student at the Hero Course of UA Academy."

"Don't let his big-toothed grin fool you, he's a totally serious hero-in-training." Kaji added.

Jotarō Kūjo gave a look of interest at the mention of UA. "It looks like we're about to get a taste of these Quirks that Midoriya mentioned." He noted, now more invested in the fight than he had been before.

"Quirks, huh?" Old Joseph Joestar was interested as well. "Let's see what they can do."

"And facing off against Sero, as we've mentioned before is another devil and another pawn of Riser Phenex. One of two pairs of twins in the Phenex Peerage, the adorable looking Nel." Daisuke introduced.

Sero looked at his opponent in surprise. It was a little girl with light green hair, a plain white shirt and black leggings. "Umm," he said, "so you're my opponent?"

"You got a problem, Big-Mouth?" Nel snapped.

Sero flinched at her tone. _Geez, fighting a dog is one thing, but a little girl? Damn it, this is already worse than fighting Todoroki._ He thought to himself.

Sero looked at Haika, who already looked like she was ready to start the match. "Do I really have to fight her?" He asked.

"As I told King Chappa in the first match," Haika responded, "you don't have to, you'll just be disqualified if you choose not to, and something tells me you wouldn't prefer something like that."

Sero nodded. "Yeah, you're right." He said, resigning himself to having to fight and beat up a little girl.

Haika sighed. "If it makes you feel any better, try to keep this in mind," she said, "we wouldn't have anyone in this tournament if they couldn't hold their own. Just keep that in mind if you manage to win."

"Oh thanks," Sero smiled, "you know, I don't mind dating an older woman."

At that moment, the temperature drop as the image of an oni appeared behind Haika. "Well, I _mind_ dating a younger boy." She said. "A younger boy with no manners whatsoever, might I add. Do you understand?"

Sero, to his credit, immediately caught on and nodded. "Yes Ma'am," he said fearfully.

Nel chuckled cruelly at this. "Buck-toothed dumbass." She taunted the student.

Sero looked at her in disbelief. "Sheesh, quite the mouth she's got on her." He muttered.

Haika calmed down and got back to her job. "Are both fighters ready?" She asked.

"To win, hell yeah." Nel responded.

Sero nodded as well. "I'm not gonna lose in the first round this time." He promised.

Haika nodded. "Begin!" She declared.

Sero immediately aimed one of his strangely shaped elbows at Nel. "Don't worry," he said, "I'm not interested in dragging this out, so I'll make it quick!"

Nel looked visibly disgusted at the sight of Sero's elbow. However, that brief period of distraction allowed Sero to fire his tape at Nel and wrap around her. "Gotcha!" Sero declared.

"The hell?" Nel looked at the tape around her in disbelief.

"And there's Sero's Quirk," Daisuke declared, "Tape. Its power is exactly as it sounds. He shoots tape out of his elbows. It's a great power for capturing villains."

"The question is, can he use this to win in a straight-up fight." Kaji pointed out. "Capturing and fighting aren't the same thing."

Sero then swung Nel towards the wall, banking on the force of the coming impact to knock her out. "Like I said, I'll make this quick." He said. "If you are tough enough to be here, getting slammed into a wall shouldn't cause any lasting damage, so I'll feel less bad about this!"

Nel frowned. "So tape is your power? Lame. Why don't I show you what I can do, Stupid!" She yelled.

Sero watched in surprise as the tape wrapped around Nel's body suddenly caught on fire. Nel then freed herself with ease. "Fire?" Sero gasped in surprise.

Ochaco Uraraka's eyes widened. "Oh no," she said, "didn't the announcers mention that little girl is from the same peerage-thingy that Shuriya girl was from? It looks like she uses fire too."

"It's possible that everyone from this 'peerage' uses fire." Tenya Iida pointed out.

"Sero's in trouble though," Mina Ashido pointed out, "those flames can burn right through his tape."

"This fight could already be decided." Minoru Mineta added, fearful for his friend's safety.

"Not necessarily," everyone fell silent at Izuku's statement, "like I said before, Sero fights with technique, not with power. Fighting Todoroki was one thing, because there was no way for him to overcome his raw power, but we don't know just how strong _her_ flames are."

"That being said, Sero did have the right idea when fighting Todoroki," Izuku continued, "were it not for the wide range of his ice, he could've won back then. Sero can still win this, he just has to be smart in how he uses his Quirk to fight."

Sero, meanwhile, found himself planning his next move. _Okay, no need to panic yet._ He thought. _We now know she uses fire. At least we know what she can do. This was a learning experience, Hanta. And now that we've learned, we can form a plan to win._

Nel glared at Sero, surprising him with how fierce a little girl could look. "Okay jerk-wad," she said, "now that you've shown me yours, I'll show you mine!"

Suddenly, an object formed in Nel's hand. Sero's big mouth dropped open in disbelief. Then, the object revved to life. Nel let out a war cry as she swung her chainsaw around. "I'm gonna cut you up as much as they'll allow me, loser!" She yelled.

"A FREAKING CHAINSAW?!" Sero could only yell in disbelief.

 **A.N: Gonna be a lot of controversy with this one, considering I let Hercule win. Honestly, it was a mixture of things. Hercule did actually win the World Martial Arts Championship before the Cell Games, and that was a legit win. There's also the fact that he's a lot craftier than people give him credit for. Also, you've got to remember how quick he was in taking down armed men during the Buu Saga. Finally, let's be honest, why would I give the win to a legit extra like Shuriya? She's too much of an unknown considering how quickly Kiba stomped her. If anything, Nel's got more of a chance in this match because we actually saw what she could do.**


	7. Chapter 7: Quirks Unleashed

**Chapter 7**

 **Quirks Unleashed**

 **Round 1 Flies By**

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, it appears our fourth match of the superhuman tier has become a game of speed and evasion." Daisuke noted of the scene before him.

"More like running around screaming like a girl like Hercule did." Kaji lamented. "Come on, where are the broken bones, the bruises, the blood?"

"If Nel catches Hanta Sero, you'll get just that." Daisuke promised Kaji.

Indeed, Sero was now trapped in a hellish game of chase with Riser Phenex's pawn, Nel. Sero's eyes and mouth were wide and aware of the horror he was experiencing at the moment. Nel yelled out a war cry as she swung her chainsaw around wildly. "I'm gonna cut your balls off you bucktoothed jerk!" Nel yelled.

"No way!" Sero yelled, visibly freaked out. "Come on, I plan to use those one day!"

Minoru Mineta watched in concern as Sero fled for his life and his manhood. "Hey, Midoriya," the little pervert said to the class's resident fanboy of heroes, "do you really think Sero's got a chance to win this? He's not doing well."

Izuku Midoriya watched the fight, visibly concerned like everyone else in Class 1A. "It is possible for Sero to lose," he admitted, "but I believe in him. There's a way for him to win."

Shoto Todoroki nodded. "If you're thinking what I'm thinking, Midoriya," Todoroki said calmly, "then we both know it was the way that he could've beaten me with."

Izuku nodded. _Come on Sero, you want to be a hero too, just like the rest of us._ Midoriya thought to himself, trying to encourage Sero. _You can do this._

Issei Hyōdō, meanwhile, watched Sero flee Nel with a look of sympathy on his face. "Damn, I remember being chased by her and her twin. I think she threatened to cut my boys off too. I can't help but feel bad for this guy. He's human."

"So was the loudmouth that beat Shuriya." Rias Gremory pointed out.

"True," Issei nodded in agreement.

Ravel Phenex giggled. "Is it wrong I'm enjoying this?" She wondered. "I mean, Nel is an old friend, like Shuriya was."

"She is threatening to castrate him, Ravel." Issei pointed out. "That's just not cool."

Meanwhile, Sero continued to avoid Nel's attacks. _Crap, crap, crap, this is so not good._ He thought. _I get slashed by this psycho and I'm going to be bleeding like a pig in a slaughterhouse!_

 _Still, waving a chainsaw around isn't safe for a reason._ Sero thought, coming up with a plan. _Time this girl learn some safety tips!_

"Take this!" Sero yelled firing some tape at Nel's ankles and wrapped them up.

Nel shrieked in surprise as she was swept off her feet by Sero yanking on the tape wrapped around her ankles. Nel dropped her chainsaw, much to Sero's relief. Then, he yanked on the tape and pulled Nel away from her chainsaw towards him. He then detached the tape around Nel's ankles.

 _Okay, part 2,_ Sero thought to himself, preparing to turn Nel into a tape mummy.

"Good attempt, jackass." Nel rubbed the back of her head. "But I think you forgot that I'm a servant of the Phenex Family!"

Nel lit her legs on fire and burnt off the tape around her ankles. She then formed a small ball of fire and tossed it at Sero, striking him in the chest and pushing him away. "Oh crap!" Sero screamed. "Stop, drop and roll! Stop, drop and roll!"

Sero rolled around and quickly put out the fire. Nel just laughed at Sero and grabbed her chainsaw once more. "What a freaking weakling you are," she taunted, revving up the chainsaw once more, "aren't you supposed to be training to be a hero? I expected more! What kind of hero are you, huh?"

Sero got to his feet, laughing nervously. "Well, The Taping Hero, Cellophane." Sero properly introduced himself.

"Wow, that's on the nose, and kinda dumb actually." Nel taunted. "So, what, would I be the Chainsaw Hero, Leatherface?"

Sero chuckled. "You're honestly acting more like a villain." He said, unable to resist taunting the chainsaw girl.

Nel's face contorted into a snarl. "I'm going to take a foot for that." She promised. "Let's see you become a hero with one foot, ass-wipe."

Ravel heard Nel's words and adopted a look of disapproval on her face. "Nel does have a bad habit of taking things too far though. I hope she doesn't actually cut off that poor man's foot."

"I'm still more worried if she's going to cut his balls off." Issei admitted.

Sero narrowed his eyes. "You, really are a psycho." He told her. "For someone who doesn't like being called a villain, you are good at playing the part."

"Yeah, well let's see you play the part of a leaking ketchup packet!" Nel charged Sero once more, swinging her chainsaw at him.

Sero leapt away, wincing in pain from the fireball that had struck him earlier. _Oh crap, I'm still feeling that hit from earlier. This is bad, she can burn through my tape, and that damn chainsaw gives her the advantage in a straight up fight._

 _Damn, I'm in trouble,_ Sero frowned, _one hit from that chainsaw, and I'm done for._

Sero continued leaping away from Nel, who kept cackling madly as she tried to cut down Sero. "You're fast, Taping Hero, I'll give you that, but you can't run forever! Me? I can do this all-freaking-day!"

Nel continued swinging her chainsaw at Sero. The hero-in-training narrowed his eyes in frustration. _Damn it, between the Sports Festival and failing the final exams, I've been falling behind my classmates._

 _I couldn't help Bakugō and the others when the villains attacked the training camp…I couldn't stop them from taking Bakugō away, or Midoriya breaking his body again. It doesn't take a genius to know how helpful my Quirk would've been had I been involved in that whole thing._

 _I've been falling behind, even though I'm part of the Hero Course, just like everyone else._ Sero lamented. _But I'm not going to give up. I know I can become a hero, like everyone else. Just because I've never tried to stand out, doesn't mean I can't do great things too!_

 _I can go beyond too, just like everyone else!_ Sero managed to psyche himself up as he gave Nel a determined glare.

Nel's eyes widened in surprise. _Hold up, his attitude suddenly changed._

Sero pointed his elbows at Nel, much to her surprise. "You can't be serious!" Nel yelled, preparing to swing her chainsaw once more to cut down Sero. "I burnt all your tape off you dumbass!"

Sero just grinned. "Yeah, I tried to tape up your torso and your legs and it failed. But I've got one more section of your body I can try." He said. "If this fails, I might as well throw in the towel!"

Nel suddenly lit her chainsaw on fire. "Or you can just burn!" Nel yelled swinging her chainsaw and using the flames to extend the reach, cutting into Sero's stomach.

Sero gritted his teeth. It was not a deep cut, but it did hurt like hell. _Go beyond, go beyond, go beyond! I'm simple as hell, but I can go beyond too!_

"Take this!" Sero yelled, shooting tape out and wrapping the tape around Nel's head.

"Gah! What the hell?" Nel yelled surprise, dropping her chainsaw instinctively, and clawing her face trying to get the tape off of her.

Sero then ended the use of his Quirk and grabbed onto the ends of the tape. "Here we go!" Sero yelled, as he began to swing Nel around and around, lifting the girl off her feet and probably giving her whiplash as well.

"Go beyond!" Sero yelled as he suddenly threw Nel over his head with the tape. "PLUS ULTRA!"

Nel was suddenly slammed onto the ground headfirst, her body stiffened for a moment before going still. Sero panted for a moment, not used to exerting himself this much, physically. "Whew, that better have worked." He muttered. "Hey, Leatherface, are you done?"

Sero got no response from the unconscious Nel. Seeing this, Haika suddenly appeared and ran over to Nel, checking her. Seeing she had been knocked out from Sero's all-or-nothing attack and will probably also have a very sore neck for the next several days, Haika made the call.

"Nel is unable to continue!" Haika announced. "The winner is Hanta Sero!"

"YES!" Eijirō Kirishima cheered for his friend.

"He pulled it off!" Ochaco Uraraka cheered with glee.

Izuku smiled, satisfied with the win. "Great! He did exactly what he was supposed to do!" He said. "Anyone who gets tape on their face in their eyes will have a brief moment of shock and recoil! That gave Sero a brief window of opportunity to take her down before she could burn his tape off!"

Todoroki let a rare smile curl. "If he had actually used that kind of strategy against me, he could've very well won the fight. I was far too reluctant to use my fire side at the time."

"And you probably would've burnt yourself doing that too." Denki Kaminari pointed out. "Who knows though, maybe Sero was also worried about blinding you. That's not really heroic, especially if you do that to a classmate."

"We've got another upset on our hands." Daisuke declared. "Another human bested a devil."

"Nel had the advantage in firepower—pun totally intended, by the way—but Sero was way more clever, and not only that, but much like Shuriya before her, Nel has a very bad habit of underestimating her opponents, all Sero needed was one good plan to take her down, and the match was his." Kaji explained.

"While Sero is not as much of a powerhouse as the rest of his classmates at UA, it is worth noting that he was skilled enough to get into UA. Sero is also incredibly fast, clever, and a skilled technical fighter. Using his Quirk correctly, Sero had a chance to win, and he did." Daisuke pointed out.

"In the end, let me just say, for those of you at home, this was one fight that was definitely worth _taping_." Kaji grinned.

"…Damn it, I hate your puns so much." Daisuke heaved a sigh. "Anyway, Hanta Sero advances to the second round."

"Now, we'll get right into the next match. Can we get Mr. Sero to the infirmary please to treat his injuries from his fight with Nel?"

Sero was quickly escorted out of the arena. Meanwhile, the screen slowly revealed the next two participants in the next match. "It's Mustard vs. Ranfan, the Gas Quirk user vs. the seductress of the World Martial Arts Tournament!"

A man dressed in a school uniform and a gas mask was quick to enter the arena. On the other end, a woman dressed in a simple shirt and pants with big, puffy hair entered as well. Kyōka Jiro of Class 1A instinctively felt sick to her stomach. "Gas Quirk user," she said, "wait…he's not the guy who attacked our training camp, is he?"

Izuku admittedly looked a bit intimidated by Mustard's attire. "He…definitely looks the part of a villain." He noted.

Kirishima then got to his feet. "I'm going to go check on Sero, let me know how this match turns out." He said. "If anyone wants to come with me, they're welcome to follow."

Ashido was quick to get to her feet as well. "I'll come with you, I think Sero could use a little bit of support while he heals up, and we were on the same team during the Sports Festival."

"Hey, Bakugō," Kirishima said to his best friend, "what do you say, you want to check on Sero?"

"Hell no, I want to see how this fight turns out." Bakugō said.

"Yeah, I figured." Kirishima grinned before teasing. "I'll give Sero your love."

"Whatever," Bakugō brushed it off, not even realizing what Kirishima was saying to him and that he was teasing him.

Kaminari and Mineta got to their feet as well, following Kirishima and Ashido, hoping to find where the infirmary was to give Sero a little bit of friendly support. "Begin!" Meanwhile, the rest of Class 1A had their attention drawn to Haika's yell.

Ranfan was quick to smile flirtatiously at Mustard. "Let me ask you a question, mask man." She said. "Do you think…pink is a good color on me?"

Mustard raised an eyebrow behind his mask as Ranfan quickly stripped down to her underwear, revealing that her lingerie was pink. Izuku blushed hotly at this. "Well…I guess that counts as a strategy." He said, clearly uncomfortable.

Uraraka pouted at this. "Who does she think she is?" She growled, clearly hating that Izuku was blushing at Ranfan's actions.

Ichigo Kurosaki was having a similar reaction. "Damn it, why is that considered a strategy? Put your clothes back on, damn it." He said, visibly furious and embarrassed.

Ranfan grinned. _No matter how intimidating that boy looks, he's still just a kid. A little bit of underwear is all I need to win this._

Mustard, however, remained calm. Ranfan raised an eyebrow for a moment before she smiled again. "Why don't you take off that mask?" She suggested. "I would love to see your reaction…I just love looking at cuties with _flushed_ skin."

Mustard just laughed. "You're such an idiot." He taunted. "How I look is the _least_ of your problems."

At that moment, a purplish gas appeared around Mustard. Ranfan's eyes widened in surprise. "The hell?" She yelled, losing her composure.

Mustard laughed some more. "If your only strategy was to play the role of stripper, then I'm afraid you're already doomed, sweetie

Ranfan could only watch in horror as the gas quickly surrounded the entire arena, including her. She immediately felt her vision getting blurry. _Oh crap…is the gas…_

"In case you're wondering, yes, this gas is poisonous. You'll feel tired at first, like you want to take a nap, but breathe in too much and you'll die." Mustard said sadistically. "Oh, but don't worry. It's not like I'm going to let you die, you'll just inhale enough of it to be out of commission for a few weeks, maybe even a few months."

"Honestly, I'm disappointed," Mustard admitted as Ranfan collapsed onto her hands and knees, "aren't you supposed to be good enough to be asked to join this tournament? Or maybe you were just brought aboard for the ratings? Either way, I just can't help but think you're not worth the effort."

Mustard then drew a revolver and pressed it against Ranfan's temple. "After all, if this were a real fight, I could pull the trigger and bang, it'd be all over for you."

The new villain then pulled the revolver away and kicked Ranfan in the face, knocking her onto her back. Ranfan groaned as she lost consciousness from Mustard's gas. Haika, who had been watching the entire thing from inside of the gas, calmly walked through Mustard's Quirk, surprising him.

 _What is she?_ Mustard wondered. _She's breathing normally._

Haika gazed at Ranfan and quickly made the call. "Ranfan is unable to continue," she said, "the winner is Mustard."

Haika then addressed him. "Please dispel your Quirk." She demanded. "And don't give me any 'I have to wait for it to do that' spiel. I want this gone in a minute so we can go to the next match."

"Okay, okay, whatever you say." Mustard laughed. "Although, are you sure you don't want me to keep the gas? I mean, it might make things a bit more entertaining."

"Now, Mustard," Haika ordered.

"Suit yourself." Mustard said as he commanded the gas to dissipate.

"That may have been even shorter than the fight between Dohnaseek and Roto." Kaji noted. "Sheesh, poor Ranfan didn't stand a chance."

"Indeed she didn't. Ranfan was a clever seductress with a powerful technique known as the Heat Fist, which heats up one's punches with friction. But unfortunately, she failed to account for one thing: Mustard is arguably a monster with a lack of emotions other than the twisted ones. This is a man who has willingly poisoned many people, some to death, with that Quirk of his. He feels nothing positive, certainly not arousal in the face of seduction." Daisuke explained.

"The kid's thirteen too, I'd _love_ to meet his parents." Kaji shook his head in disbelief.

"So in the end, Ranfan stood no chance. Mustard avances to the next round." Daisuke said. "Haika, what's the status on the gas being removed from the arena?"

Haika looked at Mustard, who nodded. "Mustard says it has all been removed." She said. "And I can't sense any more of its presence. So, let's move onto the next match."

"Alright then, the next match is…" Daisuke paused for a moment to allow the names to roll across the screen. Then when they stopped at two different names, he yelled out. "…Hitoshi Shinsō vs. Sub!"

That first name caught Izuku's attention. "Oh, Shinsō's here too?" He smiled. "That's nice, I can't wait to see if he's been improving in his own path to be a hero."

Ojiro admittedly looked uncomfortable upon hearing Shinsō was at this tournament as well. He still remembered Shinsō using him during the Sports Festival. That kind of stuff was hard to forgive.

Meanwhile, Killua Zoldyck awoke from his nap, hearing the name: Sub. "Oh hey," he said, "wasn't that guy one of the Bomb Devils hanging around Genthru?"

"Yeah, I think he was." Gon Freecss said. "Hey, Killua, would it be wrong for us to cheer him?"

"Him and his friends did try to kill us on Greed Island, Gon." Killua pointed out. "Genthru came pretty close to killing you. Me, I don't really care who wins this match. I'm not even in this tier, so who cares?"

"Well, I mean, we are here to be entertained until we're fighting." Gon responded. "Try to enjoy yourself, Killua."

Killua chuckled. "Gon, I appreciate the thought, but I really don't think these guys are that entertaining."

"But still, wake me if something interesting does happen." He said as he closed his eyes once more.

Back on the arena, Hitoshi Shinsō of UA's Department of General Studies, stepped into the arena. On the other end, Sub, one of the three Bomb Devils, did the same. Sub frowned slightly at the sight of Hitoshi. "Nothing personal, kid, but I'm going to win this one."

Shinsō, however, just smirked. _A talkative one, huh? Should be simple enough._

Haika gazed at both Shinsō and Sub. "Are both fighters ready?" She asked.

Shinsō nodded. Sub cracked his neck. "Ready." He said.

"Then begin!" Haika yelled.

Shinsō then began his strategy. "So, you really think you can win, huh? I mean, come on, look at you. With all due respect, you don't look like a winner at all."

Sub frowned. "Arrogant brat," he said, "looking like a winner has nothing to do with it. I'm going to kick your ass!"

Then, Sub's eyes glazed over. Shinsō smirked again. "Come on, you don't really believe that." He said. "You're fooling yourself. Just forfeit right now. In fact, let the ref know that you forfeit, right now."

Sub nodded wordlessly. He then raised his hand and addressed Haika. "Miss, I forfeit." He said.

Haika's eyes widened in surprise for a brief moment before realizing what was happening. She then nodded, remembering that this was totally within the rules.

"Forfeit accepted." She said. "The winner is Hitoshi Shinsō!"

Everyone fell silent in disbelief. Shinsō chuckled, turned and walked away. "Thanks for being so understanding." He said. "Have fun watching from the sidelines."

As Shinsō left the arena, Sub's eyes returned to normal. "What just happened?" He demanded.

"You forfeited." Haika said calmly.

"But…I didn't get to do anything." Sub pointed out.

"Sometimes that kind of stuff happens." Haika told him. "I'm sorry, Sub, but you forfeited this match. I'm going to have to ask you to exit the arena."

Sub was still in shock over his sudden defeat, but obeyed Haika's orders. "Well…I'm honestly a bit disappointed." Kaji noted.

"You knew this could happen with Shinsō as his opponent. Did you even prep?" Daisuke demanded.

"…When have I ever prepped?"

"Fair enough," Daisuke muttered, "the winner is Hitoshi Shinsō. Stay tuned folks, we are six matches down and have twenty-six to go before we finish the first round!"

"So stay tuned!" Kaji yelled excitedly.

 **A.N: Cleverness and technique does sometimes win. It's not always raw power. It's delivering when it matters most. Think about all the times a football team was out-gained in yards, but got the most points. Or the baseball team that got the most runs in the World Series, but lost regardless. It's all about delivering where it matters most, and that's what sets technical fighters like Sero apart from a chainsaw wielding lunatic like Nel. I hope everyone enjoyed the fights in these chapters. Next time, more fun!**


	8. Chapter 8: Culling the Weak

**Chapter 8**

 **Culling the Weak**

 **Come Forth, Demons of Different Worlds**

"We have seen some interesting fights to kick off this first round in the Superhuman Tier folks, and time has flown by since we began." Daisuke announced.

"Right now, Sho, former Tower of Heaven slave is being treated for being de-aged after a clash with the Stand-wielding assassin, Alessi." Kaji noted. "And shortly afterwards, Wally Buchanan, another ex-slave, was ruthlessly taken down by blind Stand user, N'Doul."

"We've seen even more victories for Stand Users since the match between Hitoshi Shinsō and Sub." Daisuke revealed. "Enyaba decimated Riser Phenex's Pawn Ile. And Rubber Soul probably would've killed Sadaso, former Heaven's Arena contestant with his Stand, Yellow Temperance, had we not had our no kill policy."

"Meanwhile, we've seen Quirk Users dominate this tournament as well, so far." Kaji added. "We've seen victories over more of Riser's Peerage. Ni was bested by Class 1B's Reiko Yanagi, Li by Kinoko Komori, Marion by Shihai Kuroiro and the Dragon Universe's most inept ninja, Ninja Murasaki by Juzo Honenuki."

"On the other hand, we've also seen Quirk Users suffer some devastating defeats as well, Kalawarner the Fallen Angel brutally beat Setsuna Tokage of Class 1B, while fellow classmate Kosei Tsuburaba could not properly defend himself against Inmaki, of the Demon Triad." Daisuke recapped.

"Finally, we've seen the fall of the Malachite twins at the hands of Bacterian and Giran, two former participants of the World Martial Arts Tournament." Kaji concluded. "That brings us to our current match, Spopovich vs. Bara, the second of the three Bomb Devils of the Hunter Universe."

Videl's eyes widened at the first name. Her body tensed noticeably. Pan looked up at Videl, worried for her mother. Gohan's eyes widened as well when he realized that Spopovich's presence was actually triggering his wife. Instinctively, he pulled Videl close to him in a tight embrace. "It's going to be alright," he promised, "if he tries anything, I'll stop him, consequences be damned."

Videl relaxed in Gohan's embrace. Pan giggled and cooed at her father's tenderness and protectiveness. Chi-Chi smiled at her oldest son's actions. He really had grown up into a wonderful man in spite of everything he had been through.

"Another Bomb Devil, huh?" Meanwhile, Killua Zoldyck was visibly disinterested from his spot. "Hopefully, he puts on a better show than his buddy. That guy just gave up."

 _Still,_ Killua added inwardly, thinking back to that brief match, _I wonder how many people realized what his opponent had done. Just from interacting with him, the guy became like a zombie. Any person with half a brain could notice the mechanics behind that Shinsō guy's powers. The only question now is, how many people in his division figured it out? Otherwise, he might be the winner just by getting people to forfeit._

Back at the arena, the hulking behemoth known as Spopovich stepped out. His Majin emblem was blazing proudly on his forehead. It appeared that in spite of how his life originally ended, Spopovich did not hesitate to keep the power when given a chance to compete once again.

Bara then calmly stepped out on the other side of the arena. _Sub gave up so quickly,_ he mused, _so it's up to Genthru and me to pick up the slack._

Spopovich laughed. "What, are you my opponent, tiny man?" He taunted.

Bara narrowed his eyes. _Great, so my opponent's some sort of musclebound freak-show. He's definitely showing how crazy he is just by looking at me. Although, even Genthru would claim he's acting a bit_ _ **too**_ _crazy._

"Are the two of you ready?" Haika inquired.

"Yeah," Bara said, managing to remain calm in spite of shaking slightly from his fear of Spopovich's size and bloodlust.

Spopovich just laughed with glee, ready to make Bara suffer. Haika rolled her eyes slightly at how sadistic Spopovich was. "Begin!" She yelled, stepping away to let the two of them fight.

Bara immediately acted. _I can't throw any attacks against that thing yet._ Bara thought as he used Ten. _There's nowhere for me to hide and use Zetsu to suppress my presence either. So, if I can just withstand his attacks until I can come up with a strategy, I can counter with Ren…_

"Die, little worm!" Spopovich leapt at Bara.

Bara instinctively raised his arms above his face and crossed them in an 'x.' Then, Spopovich threw a devastating haymaker that smashed right through Bara's Ten. Bara's eyes widened with horror as he felt his arms shatter from the force of Spopovich's punch.

Bara gasped in disbelief as he was pushed back several feet from the force of Spopovich's haymaker. His broken arms fell to his side. _That's not possible,_ he thought fearfully, _no regular human can just punch through Ten with brute force…what the hell is he?_

Bara fearfully channeled Ren into his body instead of Ten. Now that he knew he could no longer defend himself, he had to instead play the long game instead, and wear Spopovich down by running faster than him, and Ren—as an enhancement to physical abilities—was perfect for this.

Meanwhile, in the stands, Gohan winced, visibly disturbed by what was happening. "He needs to drop out, right now." He said fearfully. "Spopovich is going to do worse than break his arms if he continues."

Bara began to flee Spopovich with the help of Ren, thinking that he could outpace the giant, musclebound monster. "Now you run like scared rabbit!" Spopovich noted. "But that makes Spopovich a hawk!"

Spopovich then got into a three point stance like a football player, exploded from the stance, and began pursuing Bara. Bara's eyes widened again. _Oh God no, he's catching up to me!_ Bara realized that he was doomed at that very moment.

Spopovich then grabbed Bara by the neck and lifted him into the air. "Scared rabbit thought he could escape." Spopovich noted. "But there is no escape, not from me!"

Then, Spopovich took Bara by the neck and slammed him into the ground, headfirst. Everyone gasped at the sheer brutality of Spopovich's attack as the ground cracked and shattered into a spiderweb-like crater.

Spopovich just laughed as he took his hand off Bara's neck. He looked to see that the man was already unconscious, his mouth open in a silent scream of fright and pain. "Over already? No, not over just yet!" Spopovich declared, ready to torture Bara a bit.

Gohan's eyes widened. "He's not seriously going to…damn him, he hasn't changed at all." He realized.

Then, Haika stepped in. "If you're going to continue fighting, then at least let me make sure Bara is capable of continuing."

"Pretty lady is no fun." Spopovich glared at Haika.

Haika glared right back and looked at Bara. "Bara is unable to continue!" She immediately announced. "The winner is Spopovich!"

"Oof, that was freaking brutal." Even the battle-loving Kaji was disturbed by that. "He was ready to do exactly what he did to Videl in the World Martial Arts Tournament."

"Spopovich is a man of pure lust for blood and battle, only enhanced by his conversion into a Majin, which enhanced his physical strength." Daisuke pointed out. "Sadly, Bara never stood a chance. The winner is Spopovich."

Bara was taken off the battlefield by medics. "Our systems are ready to pick out the next two competitors in the tier."

Names began running through the monitor above the colosseum. Many of the competitors who were in the Superhuman Tier were utterly horrified at the thought of the possibility of fighting Spopovich. And just like that, the monster of a man had become a favorite to win, even among his fellow competitors.

"Next match!" Daisuke yelled as they settled on two names. "Kōji Kōda of Class 1A vs. Miyuki of the Demon Triad!"

Kōda let out a silent gasp at the sound of his name. Kyōka Jirō gave him a supportive thumbs up. "You're strong, Kōda," she assured him, "you go out and beat this Miyuki, you got it?"

Kōda looked at his classmates and felt his heart warm as everyone except Todoroki and Bakugō, the least emotive of the bunch, gave him smiles of encouragement. Sero grinned and spoke up to encourage Kōda as well, having returned from being treated for the injuries he had sustained in his match. "You've got this, Kōda," he said, "I won, you can too."

Kōda smiled. Class 1A…they really were like family. _That's right…I've got my classmates right behind me to support me._ Kōda reminded himself. _We're all doing our best to be Pro Heroes together, and together, it's going to be us that make the world safe, just like All Might did._

 _This'll be our starting line, we're going to show the multiverse…that we're all Plus Ultra!_ Kōda declared as he made his way to the arena.

Kōda found himself face to face with his opponent. It was a strange woman with blue hair, a red dress, and…a horn coming out of Miyuki's head. "So, you're my opponent, huh?" Miyuki mused. "A little cute, I mean, you look like a demon so there's that."

Kōda remained silent and focused. "This'll be an interesting match. The Demon Triad are well known mercenaries, and Kōda has a unique Quirk that could actually make Miyuki's life a living hell."

"Hey, Urameshi," Kazuma Kuwabara addressed his best friend and rival, "wasn't that the pretty girl who…"

Kuwabara trailed off, visibly uncomfortable with finishing that sentence. Yūsuke Urameshi, on the other hand, had no issue with saying it.

"The one that still had the family jewels? Yep, that is her…er, him, or whatever." Yūsuke said, clearly not caring about what was politically correct. "Jeez, between fighting the Toguro Brothers and Sensui, I honestly forgot about the Demon Triad."

"They were a bunch of weaklings that were no challenge at all after fighting the Saint Beasts and before all the enemies we fought in the Dark Tournament." Hiei pointed out. "Of course you forgot about them."

"Are you both ready?" Haika's voice cut Hiei, Kuwabara and Yūsuke from their conversation.

Kōda nodded, surprisingly confident inside of his shyness while Miyuki just smirked. "Yeah, I'm ready," Miyuki said, "come on, let's get this over with."

Haika nodded. "Begin!" She yelled.

Miyuki smirked. "Since I'm nice, I'll give you a chance to surrender. But if you do, I'm not going to hold back. Demons aren't the most merciful bunch in the world you know."

Kōda gave Miyuki a determined gaze. Then, much to his own surprise, he said with the utmost confidence. "I got into the school of my dreams." He said. "I'm going to be Plus Ultra too, just like everyone else!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Miyuki wondered. "Well, that really doesn't matter. If you're going to be dumb and not surrender, that means I need to hurt you. You understand that, don't you?"

Kōda fell silent and clenched his fists, ready to fight Miyuki. Miyuki sighed dramatically. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Miyuki prepared to attack Kōda. Then, Kōda let out a loud shout. "Friends, come to me! Hear my call and aid me in battle!"

Miyuki gaped in surprise at Kōda's sudden shout. However, Miyuki was also surprised by how Kōda sounded. "Wait, is that really how you sound when you talk?" Miyuki wondered out loud.

"Whatever, doesn't really matter!" Miyuki yelled, rushing Kōda.

Then, before Miyuki got within twenty feet of Kōda, the demon heard the sound of wings flapping and birds cawing and crowing. Miyuki looked up to see a massive amount of birds swooping downwards.

"WHAT?!" Miyuki screamed in shock.

The birds immediately flew around Miyuki, pecking at the demon. "Damn it, what is this?!" Miyuki yelled.

"Alright!" Kirishima yelled with glee. "That's the way, Kōda!"

Izuku smiled. "He's off to a great start. Kōda can't win in a direct confrontation, not without using his Quirk to catch this demon off guard."

"The question now is, did Kōda have the foresight to learn some basic hand to hand combat, to knock this opponent of his out." Fumikage Tokoyami pointed out. "The only way to win this battle is to score a knockout against his opponent. And a few birds aren't just going to knock this opponent out."

Kōda thought over his next move. _I could try to force a direct confrontation._ He thought, knowing that this would not be enough to win, _I mean, I've picked things up from watching my classmates fight…but it won't be enough. If I just had some more aggressive animal allies._

Then, a gate suddenly opened up. Kōda looked over his shoulder to see a rhino charging out of the gate. "Don't worry, Kōda." Kaji said jovially. "We wouldn't just leave you to fight without at least giving you some sort of fair chance."

"When a certain amount of time has passed, we will unleash a new animal for you to take command of and use for battle." Daisuke explained. "This time, we shall unleash the mighty charging rhino."

"And if you use him right, Miyuki will be able to answer an age-old question." Kaji grinned. "How do you stop a charging rhino? You don't!"

Kōda smiled at the sight of the rhino. "Go get her, Mr. Rhino!" Kōda ordered the rhinoceros.

Miyuki growled, now beginning to grow angry and annoyed with Kōda. "Like I'd be having trouble with freaking birds and an endangered species!"

Miyuki's hair then grew out thanks to Miyuki's Spirit Energy. Kōda's eyes widened at what Miyuki was doing. He could only watch in horror as the overgrown hair was whipped around by Miyuki. Kōda's mouth dropped open in horror as the hair struck the birds around Miyuki.

"Birds!" Kōda yelled, horrified by Miyuki's actions. "How could you?"

"How could I?" Miyuki glared at Kōda. "If you didn't want anything bad to happen to the birds, you shouldn't have sent them to peck at me you idiot."

The rhino, meanwhile, continued to rush Miyuki. The demon turned to the rhino. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about you." Miyuki said to the rhino.

Then, before the rhino could gore Miyuki on his horn, Miyuki's hair wrapped around the rhino's neck. "Stop!" Kōda yelled.

"I think not!" Miyuki yelled, lifting the rhino with ease and throwing him into a wall.

Kōda wanted to weep. As a young man who tried to befriend all animals (except insects, never insects), he could already tell that this was a huge mistake. "No…" he muttered.

"I'd worry less about animals, and more about yourself you fool." Miyuki said to him.

Kōda spun around just as Miyuki wrapped hair around Kōda's throat. Izuku's eyes widened from the stands, horrified at what he was witnessing. "No, Kōda!" He yelled in concern

Jirō was horrified as well. "He's in trouble," she realized, "if that demon starts choking him, he can't say anything to command any animals. His Quirk can't be used without his voice!"

Tokoyami gritted his beak. "Kōda…damn it, I hate how we can't do anything to help him.

Kōda gasped for air, trying to say something to try and command some animals to help him. However, Miyuki refused to let up. The demon tightened the hair around Kōda's throat, making the hero in training wheeze and gasp out for air, only to gain nothing. His body flailed about, trying to break free from Miyuki's grip. However, the hair was surprisingly tight.

Miyuki then gave a sadistic grin. "You know, I could choke you out into unconsciousness. Make this quick and clean, you know? But, you almost messed up my hair when you had those damn birds peck at me."

Miyuki then rushed towards the wall with Kōda in tow. Uraraka's eyes widened. "She wouldn't…" She muttered, horrified when she realized what Miyuki was about to do.

"Now then, let's grind you into paste!" Miyuki yelled.

Miyuki's hair extended outwards and slammed Kōda into the wall. Miyuki laughed sadistically as the demon ran around the arena, dragging Kōda across the wall. Izuku was mortified at the sight of his classmate being tortured, and the fact that he was not allowed to do anything to help him. "This is wrong…how can I just stand here?"

"Don't you dare go down there, Deku." Bakugō said lowly.

"Kacchan, we can't let this go on!" Izuku said to him.

"You idiot, we all agreed to this." Bakugō reminded him. "Getting in the way…would just destroy his pride at this point."

"And he also wouldn't be able to forgive himself if you got disqualified trying to save him. We'd all feel that away about any of us getting disqualified." Bakugō continued. "I get it…but you're a damn fool if you get yourself disqualified, you hear?"

And so, Izuku could only watch in horror as Miyuki continued to torture Kōda. "Midoriya, that demon is not going to kill Kōda." Todoroki said to him. "There is a strict no-killing rule. Don't forget that."

"That still doesn't make it right." Izuku told him.

Todoroki nodded. "I know, Midoriya, I know." He said sympathetically.

Miyuki then finally decided that there had been enough torture for one day, loosened the grip around Kōda's neck and tossed him back onto the arena's floor. Kōda was covered in blood, dirt and bruises from the brutal torture he had experienced.

Haika was quick to run over and check on Kōda. She winced at how brutal Miyuki had been. She did have a soft spot for children, after all. She nodded, knowing that there was no way Kōda was going to get up after that. "Kōji Kōda is unable to continue, the winner is Miyuki!" She announced.

Miyuki laughed victoriously while Class 1A glared down at the demon, angry at what had been done to their friend. "Oof, that was one hell of a wild ride." Kaji noted.

"Kōda may have been clever with his Quirk, and knew how to use it in a fight, but Miyuki had all the physical advantages needed to win." Daisuke pointed out. "And that hair attack can be quite devastating."

"Not only that, but Miyuki figured out the perfect way to turn off Kōda's Quirk, Anivoice. Cut off guy's air, and he can't talk. That's a death sentence for anyone who's superpower depends on whether they can talk or not." Kaji added.

"And the worst part is, Miyuki had the best way to do it. Choking is…well, you saw it here folks, it's not pleasant." Daisuke noted. "The winner is Miyuki."

The students of Class 1A could only watch in muted horror as their classmate was taken away by medics. Sero looked like he was about to throw up. He was that close to looking like that himself from his match.

At that moment, Class 1A realized how dangerous this tournament really could be. They only got a taste of it during Sero's fight with the devil with a chainsaw. But as they watched Kōda get taken away to make sure he did not die of his injuries…they realized that this tournament was basically no place for heroism.

Only victory…


	9. Chapter 9: The Bomber Descends

**Chapter 9**

 **The Bomber Descends**

 **Time Ticks to the End of the First Round**

"Next match is Lily of the Three Sectioned Staff vs. Mittelt, the Fallen Angel." Daisuke announced.

"This'll be an interesting one!" Kaji said gleefully. "The 74th Ranked, B-Class Hero and member of the Blizzard Group against a Fallen Angel; who's gonna win? Man or angel?"

Class 1A, however, was not listening to the announcement, they were all still mortified by the defeat of their friend and classmate. Then, the last person they wanted to deal with show up. Neito Monoma, student of Class 1B and Class 1A's greatest tormentor in school decided to drop by with his usual smug grin.

"Well, well, well, would you look at that?" He smugly taunted.

Class 1A was not paying attention, however. Monoma noticed this and frowned. He was not going to be ignored by these people. Not when he was going to get a well-deserved chance to rub victory in their faces. "I thought Class 1A was supposed to be the superior class?" Monoma taunted. "And yet in this round, most of my class has managed to win, with the exception of Tsuburaba. And at least he put up a decent fight against that Inmaki guy. That last match though? That was absolutely humiliating!"

"Humiliating!" Monoma repeated. "And Class 1A is supposed to be better than Class 1B. You all must be so embarrassed."

At that moment, Itsuka Kendo and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu of Class 1B arrived as well. When they had noticed that Monoma was gone, they knew he was going to look for Class 1A to taunt them. It looked like they were too late. Especially to stop Monoma from what he said next…

"And you know who must be really embarrassed? Kōda!" Monoma added.

At that moment, Monoma got an actual reaction from Class 1A. Bakugō almost marched right up to him and attacked him. However, much to even Bakugō's surprise, someone he was not expecting beat him to it.

Izuku Midoriya glared at Monoma with such ferocity that the smug student found himself stepping backwards in fear. Kendo and Tetsutetsu both looked at Monoma in shock. Tetsutetsu may have a sort of rivalry with Class 1A too, but saying something like that…

Kendo vocalized exactly what was on Tetsutetsu's mind. "Monoma!" She yelled angrily. "That's too far, even for you!"

Monoma ignored Kendo. He was still fearfully staring at Izuku, who marched right up to Monoma and grabbed him by the collar. "You listen to me, Monoma!" Izuku said angrily. "Kōda gave it his all, just like your classmates did. Don't you dare talk down to him!"

Uraraka gazed at Izuku. She had never seen him this angry before. It looked like Izuku had finally been pushed over the edge. And it was by Monoma of all people. Todoroki had almost froze Monoma in anger, however, Izuku seemed to be doing the job for him.

It was not like it was out of character, to Todoroki. Izuku got mad at him for not giving it his all during the Sport's Festival. Of course he would get mad at someone for criticizing someone after they gave it their all.

"Let go of me, Midoriya." Monoma threatened. "Or I'll report you."

"Go ahead, do it." Izuku said. "Because that's the way you want Class 1B to beat us. By getting us disqualified one by one, right?"

Monoma's eyes widened. Izuku had called his bluff. However, he was not done yet. He was going to let Monoma know exactly how he, and the rest of Class 1A, felt about his crap. "I get why you don't like us." Izuku said. "After the USJ incident, we suddenly got a ton of attention from the media. And because of that, it seemed like we were already Japan's favorites for how we managed to survive that."

Izuku's grip on Monoma's collar tightened. "But did you ever once consider that we never even _asked_ for that kind of attention? Or that we never even wanted to be caught in the middle of that whole incident in the first place?"

Kendo and Tetsutetsu both gasped at Izuku's statement. Now that they really thought of him, no one in Class 1B had ever really thought of something like that. "We didn't ask for the attention!" Izuku yelled. "We didn't ask to be targets! We didn't want to be famous just because we survived attacks from villains! We weren't considering anything like that! We were just happy to be alive!"

"I don't care if you keep hating us for whatever reason you can come up with, but don't you dare talk down to Kōda, or any of us!" Izuku told him.

Bakugō could not help but smirk. Even he honestly respected his rival for calling Monoma out on his crap. So, he decided to add his own two cents on the matter. "You better get the hell out of here, dumb ass." Bakugō threatened. "And you better watch out if that happens. Because now, you've made some real enemies here."

Bakugō returned to a bit of his old self as he gave Monoma a sadistic grin. "If you're unlucky enough to meet any of us in the tournament, I hope you're ready for a beating."

Monoma fell silent, unable to say anything in response. He was sweating, frightened of both Bakugō and Izuku. Izuku let go of Monoma's collar and returned to his seat. Tetsutetsu silently dragged the stunned Monoma away from Izuku. Kendo bowed in understanding and also sympathy for Class 1A. "I'm so sorry about him," she said, "that was way too far, even for him."

Izuku nodded. "Umm…I hope Kōda makes a full recovery." Kendo added before excusing herself.

"Deku, are you alright?" Uraraka asked.

Izuku took a deep breath, before giving his classmates an embarrassed smile. "Sorry about that guys," he rubbed his head in embarrassment, "I can't believe I lost control like that. Kacchan must be rubbing off on me."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean, Deku?!" Bakugō yelled.

"GYAH! I'm sorry, it just came out!" And just like that, Izuku was back to his normal self.

"Midoriya, there's no reason for you to be embarrassed for going off like that." Denki Kaminari pointed out. "You pretty much did what we were all thinking at that point."

"Yeah," Kyōka Jirō nodded in agreement, "Monoma's tormented us before, but it was pretty harmless. I think the guy just got too caught up in the tournament and let things go too far. Frankly, I think he needed to get screamed at by you to have him brought back down to Earth."

"And most importantly, you stood up for Kōda. You stood up for one of your friends without hesitation." Eijirō Kirishima added with a thumb's up. "And that's acting like a man, Midoriya."

"Thanks, Kirishima," Izuku was grateful for that statement.

"Still, try not to lose it that much. It was a bit scary." Uraraka pointed out. "I think I speak for everyone when I say we prefer sweet and helpful Deku to scary and vengeful Deku."

Izuku laughed sheepishly. "I honestly prefer the former to the latter too." He admitted.

Then, after that, the group heard an announcement. "Mittelt is unable to continue, the winner is Lily!" Haika suddenly announced.

"I guess there's more to the Hero Association than their S-Class Heroes." Kaji noted.

"Lily is part of the Blizzard Group, and they are a very powerful group of heroes. And Mittelt, sadly, had the misfortune of going up against someone who faces monsters who are basically the Fallen Angels, Devils and Angels of their world." Daisuke pointed out.

"And that staff beat Mittelt black and blue…as black as her wings." Kaji grinned.

"…Anyway, the winner is Lily." Daisuke said, a bit put off by Kaji's insensitiveness.

"Now, let's get our next match picked out!" Kaji gestured to the monitor.

The monitor quickly sped through the rapidly decreasing number of names. Then, they settled on two competitors. "Our next match will be Genthru, leader of the Bomb Devils, and 'Iron Fist' Fullbody."

This caught Gon and Killua's interest. "So Genthru is here," Killua noted.

Gon frowned. "Aww man," he said, "he's not in the same division as I am. That means I won't get a rematch with him."

"He almost killed you, Gon." Killua pointed out.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't get a rematch and actually beat him properly this time." Gon said.

Killua rolled his eyes. "Sheesh, never change, Gon." He muttered.

Sanji raised an eyebrow at the announcement. "Fullbody…wasn't he that jerk-ass marine that showed up at the Baratie with that cute date of his?"

"That was two years ago," Nami pointed out, "how do you remember something like that?"

"I only remember that guy because his date was so beautiful." The puffs of smoke from Sanji's cigarette were now heart-shaped for some reason. He smiled happily at the memory before frowning slightly. "And I never forget a man who disrespects food."

"So I take it you'll be rooting for this Genthru guy then?" Franky asked curiously.

"Hell no, I don't care who wins." Sanji admitted. "I got all my anger out on Fullbody when I beat the crap out of him myself. Whoever wins, I don't care. I'm just waiting for when I finally get my shot."

Zoro grinned. "Get your shot, huh? Better be ready, Curly-Brows, I'm in the same division, remember? The one who'll win that one is me."

"Keep dreaming, Moss Head." Sanji and Zoro glared at each other competitively.

"It appears the new competitors have made their way to the arena." Robin pointed out. "I can't say I'm not looking forward to this. Let's see who wins."

Luffy was on the edge of his seat. "This'll be fun!" He cheered.

Genthru and Fullbody were now staring each other down. Genthru gave Fullbody a once more and chuckled, adjusting his glasses. "I guess the first round is all about culling the weak and letting the strong move on, eh?" He mused. "You won't be too hard."

Fullbody glared at Genthru for that statement. "Don't underestimate me!" He declared. "I'm a proud marine under the command of the great Rear Admiral Hina!"

"Oh? An officer of the law?" Genthru looked interested in that statement. "My, my, you're not going to like me."

"I don't like you already." Fullbody admitted.

"Then prepare to dislike me even more, Fullbody." Genthru told him. "After all, I'm quite easy to dislike, especially by law enforcement. After all, law enforcement isn't exactly a big fan of the crazy, you know?"

Fullbody looked at Genthru, visibly put off by the fact that Genthru was openly admitting to being mentally unstable. Genthru grinned, knowing he had already gotten into Fullbody's head. _This will be easier than I thought. He doesn't belong here._ Genthru arrogantly thought.

Haika gazed at Fullbody and Genthru. Seeing that both were ready, Haika decided to begin the match. "Begin!" She yelled, leaping off to the side to allow both men to have at each other.

Genthru simply relaxed in his current spot while Fullbody raised his fists, brandishing his iron gauntlets, the fists that made him famous as "Iron Fist" Fullbody. "Once I win this," Fullbody said, "I'm going to wish for the power and status I lost when I was demoted, and then even more!"

"And once I do that…I'll ask Rear Admiral Hina on a date. Sorry, Jango, but the man who's going to win her heart is going to be me!"

"Tell me, Genthru!" Fullbody yelled. "Can you actually expect to win when someone like me has such a noble objective?"

"I do, actually," Genthru admitted, "because frankly, I don't care about anyone else's intentions and what they plan to do if they win."

"And what do you plan to do if you win?" Fullbody asked. "I mean, if you're able to brush off a noble goal like that, you must have a great goal of your own, right?"

"Truth be told, I haven't once considered any sort of goals." Genthru said with a bright smile. "I guess I just don't really care. Maybe I'll just ask for a large sum of cash? Or perhaps land with a title of my own? Actually, that sounds boring. Honestly, I don't care. The truth is…some men just want to be crazy for the fun of it. I don't really think there's anything wrong with that. Because to me…the best way to win a fight is to start by disarming people by showing them how crazy you're willing to get in order to win."

Fullbody instinctively took a step back in fear. The tone of Genthru's voice was so calm. It made the things he was talking about even more unsettling then they should be. "The thing is though, showing someone how crazy you're willing to be…that's not really going to work here. Because the problem is, any threats I make to you that sound crazy…they're empty because I can't actually go through with most of them." Genthru pointed out.

"For example, I can't threaten to kill you." Genthru continued. "After all, killing is not allowed, and we both know this. So, any threats I make regarding killing you won't intimidate you, because we both know I can't actually do that."

Genthru then licked his lips in anticipation. "You know what, Fullbody?" Genthru seemed to come to a realization. "How does this sound? Let's find out just how much I can get away with together? How's that for sounding crazy, huh?"

Fullbody glared at Genthru, finally managing to find his courage. What helped him do so? An image of Hina giving him a simple order. _"Win, Fullbody. Win for Hina."_ She said in her usual third-person speech patterns.

Please note, Hina would not actually say this. This is just Fullbody's delusions of dating a very popular navy woman.

And with that, Fullbody let out a mighty war cry—that was as mighty as he could manage, mind you—and rushed Genthru. Genthru chuckled. _Too easy, getting in his head was much simpler than I thought._ He noted.

And with that, Genthru held his hands in front of him. "Now then, since you clearly, have no idea what you're dealing with, why don't I do you a big, big favor."

Fullbody yelled and threw a straight at Genthru. Genthru's eyes widened slightly behind his glasses. _He's actually got a bit more strength then I thought he did. No matter, I sense no Nen in him. That means, he's got no chance against me._

Genthru avoided Fullbody's straight and grabbed him by the wrist. Fullbody's eyes widened, taking notice of the red aura appearing around Genthru's hand. "Be glad I'm not going for your face," Genthru grinned sadistically, "after all, killing is against the rules. And I follow the rules!"

"Now then, go Little Flower!" Genthru commanded, detonating his Transmutation technique: Little Flower.

Fullbody yelled in pain and surprise as his fist was enveloped in an explosion. Adrenaline surged through his body, trying to block out the pain. Then, when the smoke cleared, Fullbody was treated to the horrendous sight of the blackened stump that had once been his right fist.

"What was that?" Fullbody demanded, swaying on his feet, dizzy at the sight of being dismembered like that.

"That, dear marine was one of my Nen abilities: Little Flower." Genthru explained. "It imbues my aura with explosive properties, as you just witnessed."

"Now, I do believe they refer to you as 'Iron Fist' Fullbody, yes?" Genthru mocked. "Now, how can you expect to be called that with only one hand now? Perhaps you should give up? Or don't, I don't care either way."

 _Breaking this one's spirit just isn't fun._ Genthru lamented. _He's too easy. I can already tell._

However, much to Genthru's surprise, Fullbody managed to steady himself and raise his one remaining fist. "Even if I just have one hand, I'll keep fighting. I won't back down against anyone…otherwise, I wouldn't be able to face Rear Admiral Hina!"

Genthru smirked. _Well now, he has more spirit then I gave him credit for._ He noted.

"I'll keep fighting!" Fullbody declared. "You won't break me you bastard!"

Sadly, those proved to be Genthru's final coherent words…because at that moment, Genthru decided to take him somewhat seriously. Before Fullbody could comprehend it, Genthru was right in front of him. He quickly grabbed him by the shoulder. "Should need no introduction now," Genthru taunted, "Little Flower!"

Fullbody yelled as he was enveloped in another small explosion. He found himself forcing himself not to look at the spot of the explosion, knowing that his arm would be completely gone, and in its place, a blackened stump at the shoulder. And it was, by the way. All that was left of Fullbody's left arm was a blackened stump in his shoulder.

Fullbody was back to swaying about, dizzy. He could feel the adrenaline moving through his body. But it felt like he was being overloaded by it. "At this point I almost feel bad," Genthru admitted, "you were clearly out of my league, and yet you still wanted to take me on."

"You certainly showed spirit…Mr. Navy Man, but now, I think I've broken that spirit."

With that, Genthru knocked Fullbody onto his back with a Nen-enhanced backhand. Fullbody's eyes went wide as he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. _Hina…_ he could only think in disappointment as everything went dark.

Genthru turned away from Fullbody and immediately began leaving the arena with a satisfied smirk on his face. "Ms. Haika," he said respectfully, "I think you can call it. And, I do hope that you have medics that can restore limbs."

Haika looked at Fullbody and nodded. "Fullbody is unable to continue!" She announced. "The winner is Genthru! And can we please get some medics on the scene here?"

"Oof, now that was brutal. I mean, it rarely gets more brutal than dismemberment, right Daisuke?" Kaji asked.

"Indeed," Daisuke nodded, "but that's just what you have to expect from one of the five most heavily favored competitors in this division."

"Damn straight," Kaji nodded, "take a look, folks. This guy, Spopovich, and three others. They're the ones to beat! And for damn good reason!"


	10. Chapter 10: Four Matches Left

**Chapter 10**

 **Four Matches Left**

 **Return, Ghosts From the Past**

Atsuhiro Sako, also known as the villain, Mr. Compress, gasped in pain as he was punched straight into a wall, courtesy of his surprisingly nimble and powerful opponent, the Nen-user-in-training known as Zushi.

"Oh…blast…" Mr. Compress groaned in frustration as his head slumped forward, losing consciousness.

Zushi smiled and bowed in respect to his opponent. "Osu!" He yelled.

Haika could not help but smile a little as her motherly instincts kicked up a bit. She definitely had a soft spot for kids, and Zushi was simply adorable. She looked over at Mr. Compress and noted he was not going to get up and made the call. "Mr. Compress is unable to continue, the winner is Zushi!"

Zushi waved his arms about in victory, taking in the sounds crowd cheering for him with a big smile on his face. "The little pint-sized martial artist pulled it off." Kaji complimented.

"Mr. Compress is a B-Ranked villain who earned his ranking, what with his intellect, and mastery in trickery and deception, but the problem is, that does not cut it in a tournament where you can't hide from your opponent." Daisuke pointed out.

"And because of that, a speedy little bruiser like Zushi is his worst matchup possible." Kaji noted. "And as such, the winner is Zushi."

"We've had quite the matchups leading up to this though." Daisuke noted. "For a quick recap, Pet Shop froze up Jango with his stand, Horus. The former Tower of Heaven combatant, Gido, surprised everyone when the peg-legged man took down the demon, Goki. And his comrade, Riehlvelt, in spite of his own disability as a man in a wheelchair, brought down the martial artist Pamput. And, the pawn of Riser Phenex, Mira, managed to win one for her fallen teammates, taking down one of the Eight Expendables of the Precepts of Death, Shin Nemoto."

"However, I think we're ignoring the biggest upset of this round so far. Manga Fukidashi vs. Centerfold, folks, holy crap I did not see that one coming." Kaji admitted.

"Indeed, Centerfold had been heavily favored to win, but was unexpectedly caught off guard by Fukidashi's Quirk: Comic. This Quirk gives him the power to make onomatopoeias come to life and be used for battle. When Centerfold's Stand, Hanged Man tried to stab Fukidashi from behind, he used the onomatopoeia 'boing' to bounce the Stand back. And then, to land the final blow, he used the onomatopoeia 'boom' to slam Centerfold into the ground and knock him out."

"We definitely underestimated Fukidashi in that match. Hell, I think everyone did, especially Centerfold."

Jean Pierre Polnareff grinned at the memory of watching his sister's murderer being beaten to the ground. "That was definitely more satisfying than it should be." He admitted.

"It was impressive," Jotaro Kujo noted, "a non-Stand User took down a Stand User. I've never seen anything like that."

"Of course, he wasn't exactly normal." Old Joseph pointed out. "I mean, the kid had a comic book speech bubble for a head, for crying out loud."

"I guess Midoriya was right to be confident." Jotaro remembered his conversation with Izuku. "After all, I told him that he'd need to bring everything he had against Stand Users. I guess I was worried for nothing."

"You were worried?" Polnareff was surprised.

"Not like that, it'd just be a pain to see them all lose so easily, especially against the pieces of work we've had to go up against." Jotaro immediately denied.

Everyone was then drawn to an announcement from Daisuke. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are close to the end of the first round. Out of 32 matches, we've had 28. That means, there are only four spots left in the second round and four matches to help us fill those spots."

"We've seen some crazy good matches to start things off with plenty of blood, evisceration, and all the fun stuff that makes these tournaments great." Kaji added. "But, it's time we put a close on this round by getting the final four matches going!"

"Eight people left, huh?" Issei Hyōdō brought his head back up from Rias Gremory's lap, gazing at the arena with interest. "I wonder who still needs to fight?"

"It's a shame that the only member of Brother's peerage to win was Mira." Ravel Phenex lamented. "I suppose I'll just have to cheer for her twice as much in the second round."

Then, the two names were revealed and Issei's eyes, along with the eyes of Asia Argento, went wide at one in particular. "The next match will be: Raynare the Fallen Angel vs. Yosetsu Awase of Class 1B." Daisuke announced.

"So…she is back." Asia always knew it would probably the case, but that did not mean she was okay with it. After all, Raynare had been the one who had taken her life…

Issei simply remained silent, much to the concern of Rias, who gazed at her lover with great concern. _Issei…what are you thinking right now?_ She wondered.

Back on the colosseum floor, Yosetsu Awase took several deep breaths to keep himself calm as he stepped into the arena. He gazed out at his opponent and immediately blushed, taking note of Raynare's insanely revealing outfit.

 _Seriously, what the hell is that all about?_ Awase wondered. _How the hell can a man be expected to fight when she's dressed like that? That outfit should be outlawed!_

Awase shook those perverse thoughts away, literally, as he was shaking his head now. _Focus, Yosetsu,_ he thought to himself, _everyone in Class 1B has given it there all and most of them have managed to pull out a win. I can't be left behind by my classmates, because we all want to be heroes!_

 _This match will be tough though,_ Awase admitted to himself, _my Quirk isn't combat related like Fukidashi's. I need to come up with a plan to incapacitate this chick by welding her to something, and quick. The only question is, what?_

Raynare and Awase then walked up to each other, standing 10 feet away. Raynare immediately gave Awase a big smile. "Well now, aren't you just adorable?" She noted.

Awase blushed. _Did I…misjudge her?_

"It's a shame I have to hurt you so badly you can't fight me anymore." Raynare added, licking her lips.

 _Nope, she's a bitch._ Awase realized with a deadpan expression on her face.

Raynare heaved a long, dramatic sigh. "I hope you can forgive me." She said, her tone betraying that she did not care either way. "You're just a steppingstone for me, after all."

Awase looked at Raynare in disbelief, gazing at her eyes in particular. Those were the eyes of a woman who did not care what she had to do to him in order to win, and that was truly terrifying. "If both fighters are ready, I'm going to start the match." Haika cut in.

"Oh, I'm ready whenever," Raynare said uncaringly.

"Y-yeah, I'm ready too." Awase nodded.

Haika nodded. "Then, began!" She yelled.

Awase immediately tensed up, ready to run to either side and avoid Raynare's first attack. "Maybe in the end, I don't have much confidence I can win." He admitted. "But damn it, I'm going to try!"

However, before, Awase could enact his plan and make a run for it, Raynare was already in front of him. Awase's eyes widened as he felt a foreign object tear into his body and then come right out the back. He looked down to see that a spear of light, the weapon of choice for a Fallen Angel had been driven into his stomach and then out his back.

"Wh-what?" Awase coughed up blood, gazing at his injuries in disbelief.

"Like I said, nothing but a mere steppingstone." Raynare taunted, taking the spear out of Awase's body. "Sorry, darling."

Awase stumbled backwards a few steps before falling onto his back. Haika's eyes widened, knowing that would be a fatal blow unless medical personal went right to work. "Awase is unable to continue!" She declared. "The winner is Raynare."

There was no applause this time. Only dead silence. Raynare had won that match in under 5 seconds, so of course people would be too stunned to applaud. The Fallen Angel began exiting the arena. "Get some medics here right now!" Haika contacted medical personnel via telepathy. "This boy _will_ die if you don't get him help!"

At that moment, Itsuka Kendo finally reacted from her seat with the rest of Class 1B. "Awase!" She yelled in concern. Tsuburaba may have been beaten a bit brutally by that Inmaki, but not to the point where he was near death, not like Awase.

"That bitch!" Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu growled, furious.

Haika then addressed Raynare. "And just what in the world were you thinking?" She demanded, marching up to the retreating Fallen Angel. "You know that what you just did was borderline arena misconduct, right? You could've killed him!"

"But, I didn't." Raynare brushed the matter off. "I aimed in the exact spot to cause an instant KO that would result in my victory, but also leave him alive long enough for your medical team to save him. What I just did was totally within the rules."

Raynare then gave Haika a smile that said: 'just try and come after me.' "If he does happen to die, that's on you."

Haika just glared at Raynare. She hated it when people flaunted the rules like that in front of her.

Haika sighed. "Daisuke, Kaji, you boys might want to distract the crowd with a little bit of commentary." She ordered. "I think this match might've stunned them."

"Right, well that sometimes just happens folks." Daisuke said in his usual professional, cheerful tone. "We occasionally get matches where one person is outmatched by a superior opponent. The important thing to remember is that we have a crack team of medics here to make sure none of our competitors die. Don't worry, Yosetsu Awase is in no danger of death."

"Yep, remember, we take our no-killing rules very seriously here in the Multiverse Tournament." Kaji added. "Even though Awase just got a brutal beating from one of the top 5 heavily favored fighters here, we can assure you, he is in no danger of dying today."

The medical team arrived and quickly took Awase away. "Anyway," Kaji continued, "let's move onto our final 3 matches."

The six remaining names were run through on the monitor at an even faster rate to add to the suspense. Then, they settled on two names and once again, the Gremory Peerage found themselves stunned at one of the competitors.

"Next up, we have Freed Sellzen vs. Gokumonki of the Demon Triad!" Daisuke announced. "Will Freed and Gokumonki please make their way to the arena for their match."

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Issei exclaimed, visibly pissed off about the idea of Freed being back too. "What were they thinking when they brought that nutcase back to compete?"

"I guess entertainment to them sometimes means bringing out the worst of the worst the multiverse has to offer." Yuto Kiba noted. "After all, bad guys bring ratings, don't they…er, this event does get ratings right?"

Issei gritted his teeth for a moment before noticing that Asia looked visibly uncomfortable at Freed coming back. He then pulled her into a hug. "Hey, it's gonna be alright," he promised, his expression softening into a look of love and concern for Asia.

Asia gave Issei a smile. "I'm not worried, Issei." She promised. "I have you, after all."

Before the two could enjoy the moment further, however, a familiar voice sent a chill up their spines. "Is that you, Asia? I honestly thought you were dead."

Issei and Asia looked to see that Raynare was entering their booth. She had a pleasant smile on her face, like she had never tried to any of them before. "Well, this is quite the pleasant surprise, isn't it? Let me guess, the Gremory Heiress brought you back too, like Issei?" She asked, clearly faking her pleasant nature.

She then noticed Issei. "Oh? Issei, you're here too. It's so good to see you again, how's life?"

Then, before Raynare could actually set foot inside their booth, the Fallen Angel noticed that she was surrounded. Akeno Himejima, Koneko Tōjō and Kiba were all glaring at her. Akeno had summoned lightning around her hand, ready to fry Raynare. Koneko had already entered her Nekomata mode and was read to claw Raynare's face. And Kiba had one of his swords trained on Raynare's throat.

In short, all three members of the Gremory Peerage were ready to end Raynare if she moved even an inch, something Akeno vocalized. "You have until the count of ten to leave this place and never come back," she said in her own pleasant tone before adding bitingly, "you detestable skank."

"Word," Koneko added.

"Don't think we care about getting disqualified." Kiba glared at her with surprising ferocity. "What matters most to us are our friends. And you won't torment them any longer!"

Raynare's haughtiness faded, a bit frightened by how fast they had all moved. _Have they gotten stronger?_ She wondered. _That is unexpected…and very unwelcome. And they're definitely not bluffing._

Then, Issei's voice broke through. "Guys, it's fine, I'll handle this." He said, getting up from his seat.

"Issei?" Asia asked in concern.

Kiba looked at Issei in confusion before moving off to the side. Akeno and Koneko both relaxed, content in letting Issei handle this. Raynare smiled, adopting her Yuma Amano persona, the same persona that had lured Issei to his first date with her, which ended up being the catalyst that made him into a devil.

"Oh Issei, you still love me after all." She said sweetly.

Issei took a deep breath and looked Raynare dead in the eye. After all this time, he still recognized that cutesy, adorable voice that had lured him into a deadly trap. "You know something, Raynare?" He asked.

At that moment Raynare found herself breaking character. He did not call her Yuma. What was going on? "I've spent quite a bit of time wondering what I would do if something happened and I had to face you again." Issei admitted. "Yeah, that sounds dumb, I mean, I saw Rias kill you. But, it's just something you can't help but wonder sometimes."

"I thought to myself: 'what would I do, what would I say?'" Issei continued. "And I never was able to come to an answer because…well, I was just never able to find the right thing to say or do."

"But now, seeing you here, trying to torment Asia and me again…I think I now know just what I need to say to you, Raynare." Issei told her.

Issei then got right into Raynare's face and said one single damning sentence that made Raynare's eyes widen. "You may have been my first date, but you sure as hell weren't my first girlfriend."

Raynare was speechless. No, her power over him…was it gone? Issei smirked and turned away. "You're nothing Raynare. You love to act like a big shot with power over people, but the truth is, you're nothing. And you're certainly nothing to me. So thanks for being my first date, but you really need to get the hell out of here."

Issei looked over his shoulder and gave Raynare the most triumphant smile she had ever seen. "Because honestly, I have neither the time nor the energy to waste on you."

At that moment, all of Raynare's haughtiness was shattered as she glared at Issei, furious at him for brushing her off just like that. Before she could say anything in response, she heard lightning crackle once more. It was Akeno, who was back to threatening her herself. "I think I'll go ahead and start the countdown again, since I was nice enough to let my darling have that time to put you in your place." She said. "1, 2, 3…"

Raynare scoffed. "I'll leave of my own volition, thank you for very much." She claimed before exiting the booth.

Issei relaxed back into his seat before being embraced by Rias from behind. "What?" Issei asked curiously.

"I'm proud of you, you know that right?" Rias asked. "How you handled that I mean."

Issei smiled. "Thanks, Rias."

Issei felt Asia rest her head on his shoulder as well. "Thank you as well, Issei." Asia told him.

"No problem, Asia," he said softly.

Then, the peerage heard a sudden announcement. "Gokumonki is unable to continue, the winner is Freed Sellzen."

The mood was suddenly diminished at the news of the psychotic stray priest, known as Freed, achieving victory. It looked like they would have to put up with their psychotic old enemy for a bit longer.

Freed laughed maniacally on the battlefield as he gyrated his hips suggestively with his sword pointed outwards from his crotch, making it look like genitalia. "Looks like I just ******* this demon hard!" Freed declared.

Freed then froze in his celebrations. "Wait…what?" He said flatly before testing a theory of his. "****, ****, oh you have gotta be ******* kidding me!"

Freed had honestly not noticed it during his fight because he had been so invested in hurting Gokumonki. "Are you telling me that I'm being censored somehow?" Freed demanded. "What the **** is this? Are you telling me that a program that shows blood and guts freely is afraid of some real dirty cursing?"

"The young should be introduced to the concepts of pain and death at an appropriate age. It makes them understand their own mortality." Haika answered him, noticing his plight. "However, they should not be introduced to such filthy language until they are mature enough to use it responsibly while growing into mature, responsible adults. At least, that's how Lord O views things."

"Oh **** that ****!" Freed complained. "Nobody censors Freed Sellzen, nobody!"

"…We already have." Haika pointed out with a deadpan expression.

Freed froze, realizing she was correct. "****!" Freed screamed to the sky.

"Freed seems frustrated," Daisuke noted.

Kaji laughed. "I think he just found out that we censor particularly naughty words on the battlefield." He said. "It looks like we just got two big curb-stomps thanks to Freed having weapons that really hurt devils and demons like Gokumonki."

"And that leaves us with two matches left." Daisuke pointed out. "Two matches before we can bring the first round of the Superhuman Tier to a close."

"Let's get right into it then! Get that monitor moving!" Kaji ordered.


	11. Chapter 11: Deadly and Invisible

**A.N: I'm often surprised how difficult it is to write these chapters sometimes. Perhaps it's because I don't know how it will end until I properly analyze both combatants? Well, either way, enjoy the chapter!**

 **Chapter 11**

 **Beautiful, Deadly, and Invisible**

 **Hagakure Takes the Stage!**

"The second to last match of the first round!" Kaji said excitedly. "Toru Hagakure vs. Burent!"

The floating clothes that were actually Class 1A's Toru Hagakure, shot out of their seat. With how animated they seemed, her classmates could tell that Toru was quite excited to finally get her chance. "I'm gonna do my best guys, just you watch!" She giddily declared.

"Represent Class 1A, Hagakure." Kirishima grinned at Toru.

"And you avenge Kōda too." Jirō added, still sour over her friend's brutal injury at the hands of that blasted demon, Miyuki.

Toru nodded and marched down to the arena. "This is going to be an interesting matchup, folks. Because when you look at Toru Hagakure, you don't immediately think contender." Daisuke noted.

"The only thing you do think is: 'holy crap, why are there floating clothes moving around!'" Kaji joked.

"Indeed, this should come as no surprise to anyone, once you see her down there…well, what you can see, anyway. But, we're going to take the liberty and just say it. Toru Hagakure is an invisible girl." Daisuke revealed.

"Yep, if it weren't for her lack of ability as a frontline fighter, I'd give her this match right now." Kaji admitted. "But, in terms of combat specs, Burent, as another member of Riser Phenex's peerage, definitely has the Stealth Hero beat."

"So, as odd a match as this is, it is a very even matchup all the same." Daisuke concluded. "And that means, how we proceed is entirely up to our two contestants."

Immediately, everyone in Class 1A turned their attention to Izuku Midoriya. "Wh-what?" Izuku asked nervously. "What are you all looking at? Is there something on my face?"

"Well, level with us, Midoriya." Denki Kaminari said to him. "What are Hagakure's chances at winning her match?"

Izuku sighed. And just like that, everyone now looked to him to give a completely unbiased look at their chances at winning any match they participated in, like he did when Sero fought his match. Well, this probably was the inevitable end to mumbling information about heroes and Quirks like a nutcase. With that in mind, Izuku took a deep breath and began his analysis.

"They put it best," Izuku referred to the announcers, "Hagakure has the advantage based on her Quirk alone, provided her opponent lacks other ways at sensing her presence. Unfortunately, Hagakure's combat abilities…well, they do leave a bit to be desired."

Izuku trailed off at that last sentence. He clearly did not like saying anything bad about his classmates. He was just too nice for that. Ochaco smiled, noticing Izuku's lack of comfort in talking about…Hagakure's lack of skill in hand-to-hand combat.

"Hagakure knows she's never been much of a fighter, unlike you, Todoroki and Bakugō." She pointed out.

"Thankfully, Toru is still very strong. She's just got her own way of winning." Tsuyu Asui pointed out. "But you're right, Midoriya. As long as this Burent lady doesn't have ways of sensing her, I think Toru's going to win this one."

"Hey, they said Burent was part of Riser Phenex's Peerage." Momo Yaoyorozu pointed out. "That means she's a devil like that girl with the chainsaw Sero fought, right?"

Sero shuddered at the memory. Midoriya nodded. "That's right, but I too have faith in Hagakure. I'm sure she's got a plan."

Everyone watched as Toru stepped onto the battlefield. At that moment, everyone outside of Class 1A's universe gasped in shock at the sight of a floating bunch of girls. "Whoa, they weren't kidding!" Sanosuke Sagara gasped in surprise. "She really is invisible."

"This tournament gets stranger by the minute, that it does." Kenshin Himura muttered.

Then, on the other end of the arena, a brown-haired woman in a classic French maid outfit, stepped out. This was Burent, Pawn of Riser Phenex. "Holy whoa," Burent gaped in surprise, "I don't believe it, you really are invisible."

"And you're dressed like a sexy maid." Toru could not help but gush. "Do you have an extra of that outfit? Can I have it? Oh please, please, please, that looks awesome!"

Burent raised an eyebrow at this. "You...want one of my outfits? I'm...not sure if it would fit you. Are you...blind as well as invisible?"

"Well, maybe not, but could you at least point me to where I can get one?" Toru asked eagerly. "The thing is, when you're invisible the only way you can stand out and get noticed is if you have some awesome clothes!"

"You...would have to literally go to Hell to get it." Burent deadpanned.

"...Will you take me there?" Toru requested in the most innocent voice imaginable. You would almost think she was asking her parents for a toy and not to go to Hell, as in the place that is typically viewed as the place of eternal damnation, to get a cute maid outfit that she really liked.

Haika could not help but smile pleasantly at the sight. As Master of Ceremonies and the most active judge, she had a bit more of a moral compass than her fellow announcers and even the Lord Overseer, who was a truly neutral individual in every sense of the word.

Daisuke just wanted to make sure everything went splendidly, and Kaji wanted to see the coolest fights possible. But, Haika loved moments like these, where there was no malice between the competitors and they acted like old friends.

Burent heaved a sigh. "I'll tell you what," she said before smiling lightly, "if you can manage to win this fight, when this is over, I'll see if I can arrange a trip to Hell for you to get fitted for one."

"Do you want something if you win?" Toru asked curiously.

Burent smirked pervertedly. "Well, that requires a lot of effort on my end. After all, we're from two different worlds. Do you have any idea how many loopholes I'd have to jump through?"

"Quite a few I can imagine." Toru noted. "So, what is it that you want if you win?"

"I want you to hand over the underwear you're wearing for me to keep." Burent replied flatly. "Your bra, your panties, they're mine if I win."

"EH?!" Toru screamed in shock. If we could see her blush, we would.

Haika blushed in embarrassment at Burent's addition to the bet and sighed. "And just like that, we're back to the weird and malicious." Haika lamented. "I'd say it was fun while it lasted, but it really did not last long enough to be fun."

"Okay, that chick has issues." Kirishima said flatly.

"She almost makes Mineta look reasonable." Asui added.

"What do you mean _almost_?" Mineta shrieked in grief and annoyance at his classmates talking down to him once again.

"Why do you want my underwear?" Toru demanded. "If that maid costume won't fit me, then there's no way my underwear would fit you!"

"Well yeah," Burent nodded with a sheepish expression on her face, "but the thing is...it's still a bit of a hobby of mine."

"A hobby? You mean a fetish!" Toru accused.

"No, no, it's a hobby, or more of a habit, really." Burent admitted. "The thing is, I like to collect trophies from the people I beat. It's my way of proving I...dominated them. The thing is, I may be a maid for my Lord Riser, but the truth is, what really gets me going is when I'm the dominant one. He's the only one that gets to dominate me though!"

From his spot in the stands, Riser Phenex was now face-palming in utter frustration. "Oh for crying out loud, Burent." He muttered. Playboy he may be, Riser changed a lot ever since his beatdown at Issei's hands. And he was far more...sensible than he used to be.

"Okay, I change my mind." Asui gazed at Burent. "She's crazier than Mineta."

"Straight up," Jiro nodded.

"Congrats, Mineta, you're not the sickest pervert we know anymore." Mina Ashido congratulated with a smile.

"Don't say that like it's a compliment!" Mineta yelled. "That's like the most backhanded congratulations I've ever heard!"

"I'd take it if I were you, dude." Kaminari noted. "That's probably the nicest thing a girl's ever going to say to you at the rate you're going."

While Mineta screamed about his 'lack of respect' other members of Class 1A were commenting on Hagakure's current situation. "I can't believe Hagakure had the misfortune of going up against a crazy like that." Mezo Shoji noted with one of the mouths on his Dupli-Arms Quirk. "She doesn't react well to pervy things, whether it's accidental or not."

"I want to believe it's Burent's way of getting Hagakure flustered...but something tells me she's dead serious about wanting her underwear." Izuku pointed out with a sweat-drop.

Back on the battlefield, Toru made a sound like she was audibly grinding her teeth before letting out a battle cry. "Fine then!" She yelled. "Let's do this! I'm not giving up my underwear!"

"That is, without a doubt, the worst battle cry I've heard in the years I've spent doing this." Haika muttered before remembering her job. "Right, begin!"

Burent smirked. "You might as well start, stripping now, sweetie, there's no way I'm going to lose this match. I'm going straight to the second round, and represent for Lord Riser's sake!"

Toru laughed at that statement. "You're right about one thing, Burent." She noted. "I am going to start stripping now! In other words, I'm going to disappear completely!"

And with that, Toru yanked off her shirt and skirt, leaving her in her underwear, and the gloves and boots that normally made up her hero costume. Burent's eyes almost bulged out at that. "Whoa, you're serious? I was just trying to taunt you. Psych you out a little."

"Foolish Burent, you've made a huge mistake in wanting my underwear. Honestly, I go without them so many times, I barely even care about such things!" Toru yelled dramatically.

And with that, hundreds of men fell over with nosebleeds. "Issei!" Rias yelled in worry, as her fiance was one such man.

Toru's mouth dropped open, unseen, when she realized what she said. "I meant in battle!" She freaked, waving her invisible arms about. "It's not like I'm some sort of freaky exhibitionist!"

"I think invisible girls might be Issei's new fetish." Akeno giggled at the sight of her Issei's current state.

"Anything with breasts that's naked is Issei's fetish." Irina deadpanned.

Burent heaved an annoyed sigh. "And here was me thinking my love of domination made me the weird one between the two of us, but you take the cake you exhibitionist." She noted before tossing a fireball at Toru.

Toru shrieked and leapt to the side. "I told you, I'm not an exhibitionist!" Toru denied as she removed her underwear, leaving her naked, save for the gloves and boots a part of her hero outfit.

"Don't say that while stripping you idiot!" Burent yelled, tossing another fireball at the invisible girl.

Toru dodged another fireball before removing her gloves and boots. "Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl is now officially on the job!" Toru declared.

Burent blinked for a brief moment before screaming in shock. "NOOOOOOOO!" She screamed in disbelief. "I can't find her presence at all! Oh f*** me!"

"She has no magic power for me to sense, so of course I can sense her at all!" Burent rambled in frustration. "Oh, good-freaking-work, Burent! You just had to get paired up with a chick like this! F****** career move of the year, Burent!"

"She's...oddly freaking out for someone with fire powers." Yuto Kiba noted.

"Can you blame her, that invisible girl has no magic to sense." Xenovia pointed out. "That Hagakure actually has the advantage, for being just a normal human who happens to have superpowers."

"Aww yeah!" Issei yelled with his nose bleeding. "Represent humanity, sexy naked invisible girl! Represent! Represent! Represent!"

"Dude, you're not even human anymore." Yuto pointed out. "Also, why is your nose bleeding so much? Technically, you can't see any of her."

It's the thought that counts, Kiba." Issei replied. "Every man worth his salt would go through the effort to visualize what a beautiful girl looks like naked. Do you have any idea how many times I fantasized what Rias looked like naked before I met her?"

Rias heaved a sigh at Issei going off on such a pervy tangent. "Oh the nights I went to bed with those fantasies in mind!" Issei proudly admitted before being struck across the head by a magic enhanced slap.

"Okay, Issei, I think that's enough." Rias told him calmly before blushing demurely. "And don't forget that you don't have to fantasize about that anymore, you dummy."

Back on the battlefield, Burent frantically scanned about, trying to find out where Toru was. "Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!" She cursed in frustration. "My first fight and I'm stuck with some invisible chick! Damn it, why couldn't I have that weirdo with the tape?"

"Weirdo?!" Sero incredulously exclaimed at that statement.

"You do look like you have more teeth than the Osmond Family, bro." Kaminari pointed out in a very matter-of-fact tone.

"Dude, not cool, I was kinda self-conscious about these things when I was a kid!" Sero shouted, covering his giant teeth with his mouth.

Burent tossed fireballs erratically at the battlefield. "I'll hit you at some point!" She vowed. "You won't be able to run from me forever, idiot!"

Burent was then dealt a mean right hook to the face. "Crap!" She cursed before turning her flames. "You bitch!"

Toru let out an eek before managing to hide from Burent again. Even if she gave away her location with an attack, the Stealth Hero could easily go into hiding again for another strike. "Hiyah!" Toru yelled again, nailing Burent in the spine with a punch to the back.

Burent stumbled briefly before spinning around. "STOP!" She yelled, throwing a large arc of flames at the invisible girl, which Toru ducked underneath, restraining herself from shrieking in fear again so she did not give away her position.

"Alright!" Kirishima cheered. "Hagakure's got her on the ropes!"

"Not quite." Bakugou folded his arms. "Look at Burent, she's flinching, but she ain't stopping. That crazy maid is nowhere near done with this fight, and Invisible Girl is nowhere near bringing her down. She doesn't have the strength to do it."

Ashido sweat-dropped. "Invisible Girl? Do you still not know her name? We've been saying it." She pointed out before adding with a sigh. "Well, at least you called her by her hero name, I guess that's progress."

Todoroki sighed. "I see you've noticed it as well." He noted. "Hagakure is suited for investigations, stealth takedowns during hostage situations, not direct hand-to-hand combat. She's not dealing any lasting damage to Burent because she doesn't have the physical power Bakugou and Midoriya have, that makes them suited for one-on-one fights in settings like this."

"Right, but she doesn't need raw power to do it." Izuku pointed out. "All she has to do, is land a decisive blow that will render Burent unconscious, like Sero did against his opponent. It doesn't raw power to do that, just an understanding of how to take advantage of your opponent's vital areas. Hagakure knows that."

"She may be a devil, but Sero's fight proved that devils still have the same vital areas that will cause them to fall unconscious if taken advantage of." Izuku continued. "She can win this. Technical fighters can be just as devastating as physical ones like Kacchan and I, as long as they're smart."

 _The question now is,_ Izuku continued, more to himself now, _does this Burent have the know-how to counter Hagakure as a technical fighter?_

Burent grunted in pain as she was sent stumbling backwards by an invisible uppercut. Despite the fact she was shrugging off each blow Toru was raining down on her, Burent knew she was at a huge disadvantage. She had to flush her out somehow. She had almost found her before by tracking her with sound. The cheering made the footsteps impossible to hear, but if Burent could just get her to yell like she did before…

Burent was cut off from her thoughts with a punch to the stomach. Grunting again, a plan formed in her mind. "Okay, that's it!" She yelled. "We're turning up the heat now!"

Riser watched in interest as Burent slammed her palms to the ground. He smirked slightly, realizing just what Burent was up to. "Not a bad plan, dear Burent." He complimented.

Toru then found herself dancing in pain when the ground suddenly heated up. "Owowowowow!" Toru shrieked repeatedly.

"Whoa, there's an interesting strategy!" Kaji noted. "Burent is using her Phenex Family's flame magic to heat up the ground. We're now apparently playing 'The Floor is Lava' folks!"

"The question now is, can Burent keep this up long enough to find Toru Hagakure's location." Daisuke pointed out. "I doubt she's not feeling the heat. Just not as bad. Another question is, does this expand to the entire arena's field? Personally, I think it's doubtful, as Burent does not have enough magic power to manage such a feat, but we'll wait and see!"

"Hothothothothot!" Toru shrieked repeatedly.

"Idiot, stop yelling!" Ojiro frantically yelled at her. "You're going to give away your location!"

However, it was too late. As the sounds of Toru yelling drew the attention of Burent, the maid-like devil smirked as she instinctively turned to face the location of the sounds. "Should be right about...there." Burent triumphantly muttered before taking one hand off the ground and aiming the palm of it at Toru.

The spectators all watched as Burent charged up a fireball, while her other hand kept up the heat as best she could. However, Burent made one huge mistake. In moments where a fighter is trying to attack with marksmanship, the greats can bring a foe down without even looking, and rely entirely on sound. Burent is not one of the greats. She needs to look to where she's hearing her foe in order to guarantee a hit.

Not only that, but because she was concentrating on charging a decisive blow to Toru, Burent had to let up on the heat she was spreading through the arena floor. That, and the fact she had to look to where Toru was…

...Was all Toru needed to turn this fight back in her favor.

 _I'm...going to be a great hero too!_ Toru reminded herself. _I'm going to stand out in front of everyone, whether they can see me or not!_

"Light Refraction!" Toru yelled, bending light through her body and turning herself into a proverbial lighthouse beacon.

Burent let out a shriek of surprise as incredibly bright light shone directly into her eyes. As she clutched her face, seeing nothing but spots and darkness now, Toru took the opportunity to attack. It was now all or nothing for her.

Toru rushed Burent at top speed, tackling the devil at full force. Stumbling about, blind as a bat, Burent was off-balance as she felt the weight of the invisible girl slam into her. Off-balance and in a terrible position, Burent could only yell in surprise as she was swept off her feet by the tackle and then fell to the ground, head first.

Burent groaned, feeling her head swim due to the nasty concussion she was now going to sport thanks to what just happened. She could still feel the weight of Toru's body on her. "Forgive me!" Toru yelled, punching Burent in the face. She continued to punch the devil maid while repeatedly chanting. "Forgive me!"

After a full minute of punching, Toru's arm was grabbed by a hand. She looked over to see that Haika was giving her a smile. "I think that's enough, Toru." She told her. "Burent hasn't been moving for half a minute."

Toru looked at the bruised and unconscious Burent and gasped in horror. "Oh no!" She shrieked. "That wasn't very heroic of me at all! I just wanted to make sure she stayed down, I swear! I just didn't want to give up my underwear to her!"

Haika smiled. "I promise, nobody's going to punish you. This is a tournament after all." She said. "Now go get dressed, this fight is over."

Haika took one final look at Burent and made the call. "Burent is unable to battle, the winner is Toru Hagakure!"

Toru could not help but let out a cheer. "OHMYGOD I won!" She cheered. "I actually did it!"

Toru then looked at Burent and smiled. "Don't forget our bet, Burent." She reminded her.

"Way to go, Invisible Girl!" Kaji cheered. "Too bad we couldn't see the good stuff!"

Daisuke sighed once more at Kaji's antics. "Burent did have the advantage in firepower, but with that, came a tendency to underestimate her opponents, and with that, a near-fatal lack of regard for strategy and focusing on technique to win fights."

"In the past, Burent has failed to take into account just how devastating technique can be, and no matter how outclassed she has been in the past by raw power, it was how skilled her opponents were with technique that did her in."

Yuto Kiba smiled proudly. "Owe that one to you, President Rias." He commented to his master. "That fight would've been tougher had you not reminded me to use my techniques to my advantage and not trying to bring them down head on."

"Rias is a chessmaster for a reason." Akeno added, making Rias blush at the praise from her peerage.

"And that's exactly what Hagakure is, a technical fighter." Daisuke continued. "And with her Light Refraction, she was able to create the opening she needed to win."

"Burent never saw it coming!" Kaji cheered, not caring for how bad a pun it was. "The winner is Toru Hagakure."

"Which means we now have one final match before the first round of the Superhuman Tier comes to an end." Daisuke revealed. "Minoru Mineta vs. Yamu!"

Mineta proudly stood up. "Save the best for last, I understand." He smugly commented.

"You know they were randomized, right?" Asui deadpanned.

"Then, I guess it was just fate." Mineta continued. "Just you watch, I'm going to blow my opponent away, and blow everyone else out of the water with my mad skills. Hope you girls brought a change of-"

Mineta was cut off by a devastating slap to the face from Asui's frog-like tongue. "...Okay, I'm going." Mineta left the stands to enter the arena.

"...Do we have to root for him?" Jiro asked.

"Come now, he's our classmate, Jiro." Momo Yaoyorozu reminded her.

"...How many times has he tried to grope your boobs now?" Jiro deadpanned.

"...Well, everyone's free to root for who they want to I suppose." Yaoyorozu said after a moment of silence, making Kaminari and Sero snicker.

Mineta proudly marched into the arena. "My opponent's gonna wet himself when he sees the monster he's going up against!"

Mineta is normally something of a coward. What is causing this sudden burst of confidence? The wish promised to the winner. And what does Mineta want when he wins? The only thing a little pervert like him would want: a harem. And harem kings only got what they wanted with confidence. Confidence is king!

Issei could not help but feel a shiver go down his spine. "What's wrong, Issei?" Asia asked.

"Looking at that guy just rubs me the wrong way for some reason." Issei admitted as Koneko sat in his lap with her Issei petting her hair. "Like I feel like there's something that connects us, makes us very similar...but at the same time, we couldn't possibly any more different."

Then, back on the battlefield, Mineta saw just who his opponent was. Almost instantly his confidence was wiped away as he stared at the muscle bound man known as Yamu. Yamu stared at Mineta in utter confusion. "Am I...fighting a toddler?" He wondered.

 _OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_ Mineta could only scream inwardly.

 **AN: So, here's an interesting question, does Mineta deserve any sympathy for the hell he's walking into? I know nobody likes the little guy, but still. He's walking into a fight with Yamu.**


	12. Chapter 12: Do Your Best, Mineta

**A.N: Well, with the final match of round one about to be in the books, I think it's time to introduce a new poll. I'm very flexible in how things can go from here, so, I want to get your guys' opinion on how things go. The poll will have one simple question**

 **Should the Multiverse Tournament finish the Superhuman Tier or move onto the first rounds of other tiers?**

 **1) Finish the Superhuman Tier**

 **2) Move onto other first rounds of other tiers?**

 **There are benefits to both of them, so I really am flexible in how things go. Please note though, I won't be showing the highest tier until the very end. The amount of competitors in that one simply makes me want to save that one for last, no matter what.**

 **So, enjoy the chapter, everyone.**

 **Chapter 12**

 **Do Your Best, Mineta**

 **Round 1 Comes To An End**

Yamu confusedly turned to Haika. "Ma'am," he said respectfully, pointing at the frightened, blubbering, Minoru Mineta, "I'm being completely serious here. Am I fighting a toddler?"

Haika could not help but laugh. "Doesn't look like much, huh?" She noted. "But, no, he's in high school...weirdly enough. But yeah, you do have to fight this guy."

"What about me?" Mineta blubbered. "Do I really have to fight him?"

"Well, yeah," Haika looked at Mineta like he had grown a second head, "you two are the last of the round one matchups, so you're the only ones left to fight. You can chicken out if you want to, but then you'll be disqualified and lose your chance at...whatever it is you want to wish for, I don't normally pry. In fact, considering your background, I really don't want to pry."

Mineta's eyes widened. That was right, if he backed out now, he would lose his wish for a harem. Scared as he was of Yamu, he could not just quit. "Harem," Mineta muttered before beginning to chant it. It was his way of giving himself a bit more confidence. "Harem, harem, harem, harem, harem, harem, harem, harem."

Haika sweat-dropped, hearing Mineta's chant. "Okay…" she muttered. "...I'm going to assume that chanting means he's ready to go."

Yamu gazed at Mineta in disbelief. "What a strange creature." He muttered.

Mina Ashido could not help but whistle in appreciation at Yamu's physique. "You could grind meat on those." She noted, turning to Izuku and Kirishima. "You boys have the best muscles in the class. Do you think once you two have grown up you'll have chests like this guy?"

Izuku could not help but blush and sputter at Ashido's bluntness while Kirishima grinned appreciatively. "I am a man, aren't I not? Of course I'm going to one day have a body like that?"

"Hey, what about my muscles?" Rikido Sato demanded while Bakugou seethed at being ranked below Izuku and Kirishima in something. "Aren't they impressive?"

"Well, this Yamu guy has found a good balance. He is cut but he's also muscly, kinda like Red Riot was back in the day." Ashido explained.

Kirishima gasped. "You were paying attention!" He cheered excitedly, fanboying at Izuku's level for a brief moment.

"You wouldn't stop gushing about Red Riot, of course I had to pay attention!" Ashido yelled. "Honestly, you're the only guy who comes close to Midoriya's level of fanboy!"

"Umm...shouldn't we be paying attention to Mineta's battle. I'm sure he could really use our support right now." Ojiro noted. "I mean, look at him, the guy's in tears, chanting the word 'harem' over and over again."

"Yikes," Jiro could not help but shudder at the sight of Mineta being reduced to such a state. It was actually more horrifying than pathetic.

"He might want to get his act together." Asui noted. "If Mineta wants any chance at beating a guy like that, he needs a strategy like Toru, not creepy chanting."

"Well, folks," Kaji spoke up, "for those of you who are underwhelmed by this being the final match, all we ask is that you bear with us. We haven't steered ya wrong yet, have we? Even if this looks like a living David and Goliath story, that doesn't mean it's going to end like the actual tale, and it also doesn't mean that something predictable will happen, like how Goliath probably should've won that fight if he wasn't such a dumbass."

"Anyway," Daisuke interrupted Kaji's weird tangent, "for those of you who don't know, Minoru Mineta is the one who looks like a toddler. He's known as the Fresh Picked Hero: Grape Juice, and is a student of UA Academy. He has an...odd Quirk, to say the least, but he uses it to great effect."

"And then we have Yamu, a martial artist. Once a human, Yamu sold his soul to the wizard Babidi for power, becoming a Majin much like Spopovich."

This put Izuku and the other students of Class 1A on guard. "Spopovich? That behemoth that broke that poor man earlier?" Yaoyorozu was horrified at the thought of Mineta fighting someone similar.

Pervert he may be, Mineta was still one of them. They did not want him to be seriously injured.

Kirishima gazed at Izuku. "Hey, level with us, Midoriya." He said. "Does Mineta have a chance at this?"

Izuku looked down. "I don't know," he admitted, feeling useless, "Mineta's good with his Quirk...but if this guy is anything like that Spopovich...I just don't know if he can win. He's built like the villain I fought at the training camp, and it took me everything I had to survive that fight."

"So...you don't think Mineta is going to win." Kirishima stated grimly.

"These battles can only be won by forcing our opponents to fall unconscious." Izuku pointed out. "The only way I can see Mineta winning is if he manages to suffocate Yamu with his Quirk. And that itself is dangerous because he might accidentally kill him."

Speaking of Mineta and Yamu, the Majin that was once a human, stared at the chanting Mineta. "I will give you the chance to back out out of kindness." Yamu told him. "I may be a Majin, but I sold my soul for power, not to torment the weak. I'm not like Spopovich."

Mineta froze, briefly considering dropping out of the tournament. However, just as quickly, his wish returned to his thoughts. And so, he simply kept repeating the same word, over and over again.

"Harem, harem, harem, harem, harem, harem, harem." Mineta continued to chant, while shaking his head as a negative response to Yamu's offer.

Yamu briefly gazed at Mineta like he was crazy, before nodding in understanding. "Very well, if you've made up your mind, I will respect that." He said understandingly. "However, I will not be held responsible for any injuries you gain during this match. This was because you chose to fight. Never forget that."

Mineta just nodded, ready to give his all, even though deep down he knew he probably would not win. But, his chanting was all the encouragement he needed…

"Begin!" Haika yelled as she stepped out of the way.

"Would you prefer I make the first move? Or would you like to go first?" Yamu immediately asked, surprising everyone with how respectful he was being.

Mineta only nodded. Yamu sweat-dropped. "That wasn't an answer." He pointed out. "You just nodded at me."

Mineta then began removing sticky purple balls from his head and began frantically tossing them at Yamu. Yamu calmly weaved in and out of Mineta's throws. He was not concerned. He was simply not making the mistake of letting his guard down, just in case these balls had any dangerous properties to them, like poison or acid, or something else like that.

Yamu looked around the arena, taking note of Mineta's purple balls sticking to the ground around him. In the stands, Son Gohan raised a confused eyebrow at little Mineta's actions. "I honestly can't tell if that's a strategy he's trying to use, or if he's just panicking."

"Either way, it might be best if he just drops out." Krillin pointed out. "If that guys anything like Spopovich, that kid's gonna get torn to pieces."

Yamu did not move from his place as he continued to avoid Mineta tossing the balls at him. "If this is your strategy, I suggest you surrender." Yamu said calmly. "I am not sensing any danger from those balls of yours…"

"Grape Rush!" Mineta yelled, ripping more balls from his head and charging Yamu, intent on sticking the balls to him and immobilize him.

 _I can't be a hero like Midoriya, Bakugou and Todoroki!_ Mineta thought to himself. _I'm well aware...that my powers aren't suited for awesome macho stuff that gets the chicks. But I'm not going down without a fight! I can still prove myself to the ladies in other ways! Bring it on you bald bastard!_

Yamu narrowed his eyes and threw a punch at Mineta, only for his fist to suddenly be stuck in one of Mineta's purple balls. Yamu's eyes widened. So that was the secret behind Mineta's Quirk. Yamu was then struck by other balls that stuck to his body. "Ha!" Mineta yelled, landing behind Yamu. "Feel the power of my Quirk: Pop Off! These sticky balls may seem useless, but now that you're covered in them, you can't throw a single attack at me without the balls hitting me first! And I just bounce right off them!"

"Whoa!" Kaminari grinned from the stands. "Way to go, you little perv!"

"I gotta hand it to Mineta," Asui admitted, "that was actually a pretty good strategy on his part."

"But how long will those balls stay on." Izuku pointed out. "Remember what Mineta told us, the balls don't stick there forever. He's trying to turn this into a battle of attrition, unless of course he has another plan in mind."

Asui hummed in acknowledgement. "I believe he mentioned they can last a whole day if he's in good health." She reminded Izuku.

"And even if there's no time limit in this fight, Mineta doesn't have a whole day." Yaoyorozu pointed out. "He needs to do more if he wants to win against Yamu."

Back on the battlefield, Yamu gazed at the balls stuck to his body in slight frustration. "I have to admit, young one, you caught me off guard." He acknowledged. "If you do just bounce off them, that will make defeating you difficult."

Mineta grinned. "Damn straight," he said, "don't underestimate just because my Quirk isn't macho like Midoriya's. Just because that annoyingly innocent jerk gets all the babes, doesn't make me any less of a man than him!"

"Okay, what is he even talking about now?" Izuku sweat-dropped. "I don't do this to get girls."

"Frankly, I'm jealous of Midoriya's lady-killer tendencies too." Kaminari admitted.

"I'M NOT A LADY KILLER THOUGH!" Izuku cried.

Uraraka pouted in jealousy. "I wonder what Hatsume thinks about that." She muttered to herself, referring to the student in the Support Department that has a bad habit of getting a little too touchy and close with Izuku.

Yamu heaved a sigh. "Alright, so I've been caught in your trap. I suppose that's my fault for underestimating you." He mused. "So, what happens now, Minoru Mineta?"

Mineta chuckled. "I take you down!" He declared, rushing Yamu once more, holding more sticky balls out.

Yamu instinctively took a step back, now on guard at the sight of Mineta's Quirk going into action. However, he walked right into Mineta's trap this time. Yamu gasped when he felt his foot step on something particularly squishy. He looked down to see that his foot had stepped on one of Mineta's balls.

 _Damn! I was distracted and forgot about those!_

Mineta then leapt onto a ball that was stuck to Yamu's knee, which was pushed out in front of him thanks to the position he was in. "You're mine now, you bastard!" He yelled now in front of Yamu's face. "Time for my new move! Grape Feeding!"

Mineta then shoved a ball straight into Yamu's mouth, giving him the appearance of a pig with an apple in its mouth on the dinner table. Yamu could only yell in shock and frustration, unable to pull the ball out of his mouth.

"Maybe this isn't very heroic, but if I can't beat you in a straight-up fight, I can at least make you pass out from a lack of oxygen!" Mineta pointed out, taking one last ball and shoving it onto Yamu's nostrils, blocking air now. "Don't worry though, once you pass out, I'll get them off you!"

"That's definitely not very heroic, but it may be all he can do." Kirishima noted.

"In tournaments like these, when the labels 'hero' and 'villain' might not mean as much to others, it is indeed a valid strategy." Todoroki pointed out.

Elsewhere, Kenshin Himura could not help but comment on the strange powers he had seen throughout the first round. "I have to admit, this is making me nervous for my upcoming battles, that it is." He admitted.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Kenshin." Kaoru Kamiya assured him.

Kenshin just smiled at Kaoru. "Your faith in me is wonderful as always, Ms. Kaoru." He said kindly before turning back to the fight. "The question now is, what will this Yamu character do, now that his air has been cut off."

Yamu flailed about, immediately feeling his oxygen supply being cut off by Mineta's newest Super Move. Even though he was a Majin thanks to Babidi, he was still a man with mortal fears, and death was one of those fears.

Mineta heaved a sigh of relief. He felt blood run down his head. _Oh man, I really overdid it with my Quirk this time._ He noted. _I guess that's what I get for freaking out in the beginning. But, now all I have to do is wait it out. I've got this._

Then, suddenly, much to Mineta's confusion, Yamu stopped struggling. He was still on his feet, but he was no longer struggling. "Uh...what?" Mineta said flatly.

Yamu then smirked from beneath the ball covering his mouth and let out a muffled kiai. Mineta was almost knocked off his feet as a visible aura of Ki appeared around Yamu. Then, Mineta watched in horror as the balls were all blasted off of Yamu's body from the sheer force of his Ki.

"No way…" Mineta was already close to tears at the sight of his gambit failing.

Yamu took several deep breaths, making up for the oxygen he had lost in the time he had spent suffocating from Mineta's Grape Feeding attack. "That was close." He commented. "Not bad, Minoru Mineta. If that had been anyone else, you might've won the fight."

"What was that?" Iida demanded from the stands. "That wasn't a Quirk, so what was it?"

"He blasted Mineta's balls off his body from the sheer force of...whatever that was." Yaoyorozu realized with horror.

"What's Mineta going to do now if he can't trap this guy in his Pop Off?" Sero wondered.

Izuku remained silent. That was the best plan he could have come up with, knowing Mineta's Quirk. He had no way of winning now.

Kurama narrowed his eyes, recognizing something very familiar about Yamu's power. "Urameshi." Kurama said. "Did that man's power seem familiar to you?"

"Yeah, it was weak as hell compared to our own Spirit Energy." Yusuke Urameshi noted. "But still, that's the energy of a human who got turned into a human. It's like mine...but again, way, way, way, way, way weaker."

Kurama hummed thoughtfully, turning back to the fight between Yamu and Mineta. "The poor boy," he mused, "there's nothing he can do now."

Yamu then stretched his body, loosening up after being stuck in such an uncomfortable position. "If I lacked the power of a Majin, I could've been killed by that attack." He noted. "As much as I respect your drive to win, I must also advise you not to risk disqualification."

"But do not mistake my recommendations as me not being impressed by your efforts. You did well, in spite of the situation." Yamu complimented before hardening his face. "But I'm afraid you stand no chance against me. This fight was over from the start."

And with that, Yamu let out his Ki again, making Mineta go pale in fright. From the stands, Piccolo narrowed his eyes. "Now I get it," he growled in disgust at Yamu's actions, "that Mineta's world lacks Ki. It's like Yamu's just bullying a regular guy."

"Which isn't true because he does have superpowers." Tien noted. "But still, you're right. This is cruel in its own way. Mineta looks like he's about to cry."

Back on the battlefield, Mineta fell to his knees. When Yamu saw this, he immediately let up on his Ki. "Well, Minoru Mineta?" He inquired curiously. "What will you do now?"

Mineta whimpered at this. He was bleeding from overusing his Quirk. His gambit had failed. And he could not hope to overpower Yamu when his foe had power like that on his side. He knew there was only one option left.

"I surrender." He said softly, but loud enough for Haika to hear.

Yamu nodded in understanding. "You made the correct choice, young man." He said softly, turning away from the kneeling Mineta and exiting the battlefield.

Haika gave Mineta a small smile and made the announcement. "Minoru Mineta has forfeited the match." She said. "The winner is Yamu!"

Mineta was left in tears as it fully hit him. In the end, he simply did not have the resolve to continue the fight until the very end. "...Our first willing forfeit, ladies and gentlemen." Daisuke said softly.

"I'll give Mineta credit, he had a good idea." Kaji was surprisingly solemn at the moment. "In the end, Yamu was just too good for him to beat. The power of Ki is nothing to sneeze at."

"The winner of the final match of the first round in the Superhuman Tier, is the human-turned-Majin; Yamu." Daisuke announced.

Haika walked over to Mineta and gave him a sympathetic but stern gaze. "Listen," she said, "I know how you feel, but you need to leave the arena. The match is over. It's best you step out now so you can mourn your defeat in private."

Mineta whimpered and then rose to his feet. He dejectedly exited the arena, making his way up to the stands. Sero and Hagakure won their fights. And he could not; same with Koda. He really was ashamed of himself. After the Joint Training Session with Class 1B, he just could not help but wonder if a performance like this would get himself kicked out of 1A and replaced with Shinso.

Then, as soon as Mineta returned to his classmates, his thoughts were drawn to something completely different: the sounds of encouraging cheers. "Better luck next time, Mineta." Kirishima encouraged as best he could. "You did your best, so don't look down."

"You were kinda in an unwinnable situation." Ashido noted. "There's no shame in forfeiting. We're just glad you're okay."

"That was an impressive strategy, Mineta." Iida smiled. "It's really too bad it didn't work. You would've won had it been used against anyone else."

"You're turning into a great hero like the rest of us, Mineta." Izuku promised. "You've got nothing to be ashamed of, just because it didn't work this time around."

Mineta just sobbed at the sight of his classmates saying such kind encouraging things. "You guys really mean it?" He blubbered.

"You're a shameful, disgusting perv, but you're still our classmate, Mineta." Asui reminded him. "And you're still every bit the hero-in-training as the rest of us."

Mineta could only wail. "You know!" He sobbed. "I really do love this class, damn it!"

As Class 1A took the opportunity to remind each other that no matter how different they were, they were all family, Daisuke and Kaji spoke up once more. "That's it, folks!" Kaji announced. "64 competitors entered, and 32 came out the victors! Round 1 is in the books! We'll be taking a short break. So take some time to enjoy the amenities of this colosseum!"

"But don't go too far, because we'll be back real soon!" Daisuke promised.

 **A.N: So, as I've promised everyone who's asked, the following is a list of everyone who's still in the Superhuman Tier. And remember to vote on the poll I've put up. Do you want me to just finish the Superhuman Tier, or do you want me to go through a few rounds of other tiers first? I'll be taking a month-long break to let you guys vote so we get some decent results. And now, the list.**

 **The Top 32 (Superhuman Tier)**

 **Iggy (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)**

 **Dohnaseek (Highschool DxD)**

 **Hercule Satan (Dragon Ball)**

 **Hanta Sero (My Hero Academia)**

 **Mustard (My Hero Academia)**

 **Hitoshi Shinso (My Hero Academia)**

 **Alessi (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)**

 **N'Doul (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)**

 **Enyaba** **(JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)**

 **Rubber Soul** **(JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)**

 **Reiko Yanagki** **(My Hero Academia)**

 **Kinoko Komori** **(My Hero Academia)**

 **Shihai Kuroiro** **(My Hero Academia)**

 **Juzo Honenuki** **(My Hero Academia)**

 **Kalwarner (Highschool DxD)**

 **Inmaki (Yu Yu Hakusho)**

 **Bacterian (Dragon Ball)**

 **Giran (Dragon Ball)**

 **Spopovich (Dragon Ball)**

 **Miyuki (Yu Yu Hakusho)**

 **Lily (One Punch Man)**

 **Genthru (Hunter x Hunter)**

 **Zushi (Hunter x Hunter)**

 **Pet Shop (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)**

 **Gido** **(Hunter x Hunter)**

 **Riehlvelt** **(Hunter x Hunter)**

 **Mira (Highschool DxD)**

 **Manga Fukidashi (My Hero Academia)**

 **Raynare (Highschool DxD)**

 **Freed Sellzen (Highschool DxD)**

 **Toru Hagakure (My Hero Academia)**

 **Yamu (Dragon Ball)**


	13. Chapter 13: A Surprise Announcement

**A.N: There was definitely no surprise when I found out you guys wanted me to focus on the higher tiers for a bit. As fun as it was to right for the Superhuman Tier, they're still the lowest tier. So yeah, let's kick things up a notch. But first, a little bit of buildup.**

 **Chapter 13**

 **A Surprise Announcement**

 **The Tournament Takes a New Turn**

"And we are back!" Kaji gleefully exclaimed. "Hope you enjoyed that commercial break!"

Daisuke gave his partner in broadcasting a look that was a mixture of deadpan exhaustion and confusion. "Kaji...did we even leave?"

"Maybe to some people we did." Kaji grinned. "So that's why I'm saying we. Are. Back!"

Daisuke shrugged. "Well, if you say so." He said before regaining his composure and sense of professionalism. "I...guess we're back everyone. It's been a great first round to start the Superhuman Tier and the Multiverse Tournament as a whole. However, we have a very important announcement to suddenly make regarding the tournament's immediate future."

"We're canceling the tournament." Daisuke said flatly. "Everyone go home."

Kaji looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "Wh-what?" Kaji sounded betrayed, like a child that was not being given ice cream after being promised ice cream.

"That was a joke." Daisuke said in that flat tone. "I...see you're not laughing."

"Dude!" Kaji shrieked. "Are you seriously telling me that all these years of working together and _that's_ your first attempt at making a joke?! Not cool, Dai! Not cool!"

"...In all seriousness," Daisuke got back on track, "we actually do have an important announcement to make. We have heard your messages and your opinions on the UniNet."

"UniNet?" Izuku Midoriya's mouth dropped open at that name. "Hold on, are you seriously telling me this world has an internet? That's...so random."

"Do you think they have some version of Youtube?" Eijirou Kirishima suggested. "Maybe they call it...GodTube? Doesn't that sound awesome and manly?"

"...If they do have a version of Youtube, it's not called that." Katsuki Bakugou immediately shot down that idea. "That is literally the most uninspired name ever."

In another part of the Colosseum, a green-skinned Supreme Kai sneezed. "Yes, we do listen to the people." Daisuke continued. "And we have decided to shake things up a little in response. We asked what you would like to see next and you almost overwhelmingly responded: 'we want to see the higher tiers'. Well, you asked, we listened, and now, you shall receive."

Kaji gasped. Even he was left unaware by this. "Wait, are you saying that we're going to go up in power levels for this tournament?" He eagerly inquired.

"Mostly," Daisuke corrected, "because of the incredibly small amount of participants there are in the Multi-Universal Tier, we will be saving them in their entirety for last, no exceptions."

"Aww," Son Goku sounded so disappointed upon hearing this. "But I don't want to wait that long. That's so unfair. I wanna fight now. Jiren is in this tier. I want to settle things."

Vegeta sighed. "Kakarot," he said before smirking confidently, "don't complain so much. Try to think of it this way: they're saving the best for last by showing us Saiyans last."

"But I don't wanna be saved for last, Vegeta." Goku whined. "I wanna go now. I wanna! I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna!"

"Goku!" Chi Chi shrieked at her husband like a furious banshee. "You are acting like a spoiled brat! Try to set a better example for Goten!"

Goku shrunk back at Chi Chi's yell. All of the times he has saved the universe, all those times he has gone beyond his limits to fight insanely powerful enemies, and the one thing he still cannot conquer is his wife's temper.

"So, we're going to take this opportunity to run through any maintenance the battlefield may be, get our records for the Urban Tier together, and then we'll be right back into the action." Kaji promised.

"Speaking of the Urban Tier." Daisuke continued. "It is extremely important this is made clear immediately. There is a massive number of contestants, so massive, we cannot just begin single elimination."

"That's right, the first thing we're going to do is a preliminary round!" Kaji excitedly announced.

"A preliminary round?" Ruby Rose gave a confused look at that statement. "I mean, Lord O said something about that, but what would constitute a preliminary round?

"Indeed, what kind of preliminary round could they possibly be thinking of to cut our numbers down to an appropriate size?" Blake Belladonna wondered. "I...honestly don't like this."

"This goes for a few other tiers as well." Daisuke admitted. "And the general rules will remain the same. You will be divided up into four different blocks. Once we have everyone grouped together, messengers will approach you and have you follow them onto the battlefield when your block is to participate. You will then compete until a specified amount of people remain."

"And here's the deal, for everyone in the higher tiers who's thinking: 'oh, it's okay, I can get an idea of how to beat this game by watching when it's my turn. Nope." Kaji grinned. "Each tier and each block will have a different sort of competition to keep things fresh. The overall objective will remain the same-the ones left standing win-but the game itself will be very different. So you better not get used to the rules. They could change any minute."

"They really have thought of everything." Izuku Midoriya noted. "We don't have to worry about that fear of the unknown, though. Since we're all in the Urban Tier, we're going first."

Elsewhere, Jotaro Kujo just heaved a sigh. "Good grief." He muttered. "They're going out of their way to make this complicated."

"Competition is always entertaining to the masses when it is made complex." Jonathan Joestar sagely pointed out. "And as gentlemen competitors, it is our duty to adapt and compete their way, while also maintaining the poise of a gentleman."

"Hate to break it to you...er, Gramps." Young Joseph Joestar spoke up. "But some of those people we just saw were not gentlemen. And I'm not just talking about the women."

"Until we're ready for you all, we encourage all competitors to wander around and enjoy the amenities our Colosseum has to offer. You're our honored guests after all, so try to enjoy the pleasures of being a competitor in this tournament." Daisuke pointed out.

Steam poured out of Master Roshi's nose. "Pleasures?" He said eagerly.

"I wouldn't get too excited, sir." Krillin pointed out. "I'm sure they just mean stuff like food, drink and the other kinds of stuff you'd expect from a five star resort."

"Even if that weren't the case and those 'pleasures' are exactly what he's thinking," Android 18 stepped into view, grabbing onto Krillin's ear, "you wouldn't be interested at all, right _honey_?"

"Owowowowow! Of course not, babe!" Krillin reassured his wife. "You're the only woman for me, you know that."

And so, several contestants began migrating through the Colosseum. Soon, many of them found their way to the Warrior's Hall, an area reserved for the enjoyment of contestants to come and go as they please. Where they would partake in food and drink with fellow contestants.

Kenshin Himura, however, was content to simply sit and enjoy his tea, wishing he was under a cherry blossom tree in a more peaceful setting. _I should be more irritated with being brought here, that I should be._ Kenshin thought to himself. _This kind of setting is the exact opposite of what kind of life a wandering samurai should have._

"Kenshin," Kenshin's musings were cut off by the woman he was protecting, Kaoru Kamiya, who had joined him.

Thankfully, Kaoru had been allowed to accompany Kenshin inside of the Warrior's Hall as she was a companion of a contestant. "Yes, Ms. Kaoru?" Kenshin raised an eyebrow and addressed her in his usually polite tone.

Kaoru frowned and pointed at Kenshin's frown. "You can't fool me, Mister." She said. "You're still bothered from being here. You don't like that you're competing."

Kenshin laughed at that statement. "It appears you've become better at reading my emotions, that you have." He noted.

Kaoru pouted slightly at Kenshin's attempts at acting carefree so as not to worry her. Kenshin then gave her a reassuring smile. "Ms. Kaoru, I promise you this," he said, "while I personally have no interest in competing, I intend to give it my all."

Kenshin's smile seemed to brighten as he delivered his next statement. "After all, the better I do, the greater fame I bring to your family, and your dojo."

Kaoru gasped at the fact that even though he was in such an uncomfortable place, Kenshin's first thoughts were of her family's honor and the success of the Kamiya Dojo. She then gave him a glare with no malice behind it. "Idiot." She muttered.

Then, Kenshin and Kaoru's peace and quiet were disturbed by the insanely happy squeals of a young girl. Kenshin and Kaoru turned to see a girl in red speeding through the crowd, stopping to look at contestants who had weapons. Behind her, a blonde girl with a metallic arm was desperately trying to weave through the crowd to catch up with her.

Ruby Rose's eyes then fell on Kenshin Himura and his reverse blade. Within a second, she was upon him. "Whoa!" She squealed. "Now that's a katana!"

Kaoru almost fell over from the girl's energy overwhelming her, while Kenshin simply blinked in surprise. "Umm...thank you." Kenshin said politely.

"Does anything faze you?!" Kaoru demanded, shocked that Kenshin would react so normally to a girl running up to greet him at breakneck speeds. Actually, she really should not be shocked by any of his mannerisms at this point.

"May I...do you think I could hold it?" Ruby asked, stars in her eyes.

Kenshin raised an eyebrow at Ruby's eagerness and drew his reverse blade. "Be my guest." He said. "Do be careful though. The blade is designed rather differently from what I'm sure you expect."

"Oh, because it's a reverse blade, right?" Ruby inquired curiously.

"Ah, you know your weapons, that you do." Kenshin could not help but smile at how bright the girl seemed. "Indeed, it is a reverse blade."

"You must be quite the swordsman to fight with a blade like this." Ruby complimented.

Kaoru tensed at this, wondering if the girl had unknowingly upset Kenshin with her comments. At that moment, the blonde who had appeared to be chasing after Ruby, caught up to her. "Sorry about that," Yang Xiao Long said with a smile. "Ruby always gets like this when she's surrounded by people with cool weapons!"

"Oh, it's no trouble at all." Kenshin assured her. "Ruby was just being friendly."

"That is your name, yes?" Kenshin addressed Ruby once more.

"Yep," Ruby smiled, "Ruby Rose at your service. Nice to meet ya."

Kenshin chuckled. "Well, Ruby, my name is Kenshin Himura. I'm a wandering samurai, that I am." He introduced himself. "Tell me, which tier do you reside in?"

"Oh the Urban Tier." Ruby responded. "In fact, Yang does too. All my friends do, in fact."

Kenshin smiled. "Interesting," he said, "I just so happen to be in the Urban Tier myself, that I do."

Ruby's eyes widened. "You know what that means, do you not, Ruby?" Kenshin inquired. "That means if you're lucky, you may get to experience my skills firsthand, and I get to do the same."

Ruby gazed at Kenshin in surprise for a moment before smiling eagerly. "I won't lose." She promised. "I'm going to win the Urban Tier, even if it means taking on a swordsman like you."

Kenshin smiled pleasantly. "I accept your challenge, young Ruby, and I wish you the best of luck. May we meet again on the battlefield, and may we have a fair, enjoyable fight!"

"Looking forward to it!" Ruby cheered before speeding off, leaving Yang to sigh in exasperation and follow her sister once more.

Kaoru looked at Kenshin in slight disbelief. "You seem surprised, Ms. Kaoru." Kenshin said in a matter of fact tone.

"I've never seen you outright challenge someone to a fight, Kenshin." Kaoru pointed out. "I mean, you're no longer the Battousai...so why?"

Kenshin chuckled. "Honestly, she reminds of Yahiko. A kind heart, a pure spirit, an eagerness to grow as a warrior. I couldn't bring myself to crush that enthusiasm of hers if I tried. It's almost infectious, that it is."

Kenshin saw Ruby appear in his sights once more, noticing the compact version of Crescent Rose kept at her side. "And a part of me is curious...I wonder what kind of weapon she'll use to try and match the Hiten Mitsurugi Style."

Elsewhere, Son Goku, Toriko, and Monkey D. Luffy were in an unofficial race to see who could consume the most portions of food. As the trio of big eaters found themselves leaning back in their seats, Goku seemed to notice just how much Toriko and Luffy had consumed. "You two are crazy." He noted. "Even Vegeta can't keep up with me when I'm eating."

Toriko and Luffy looked at the portions Goku consumed and both laughed. "You cleaned your plates too." Toriko noted. "That's good. Never let food go to waste."

"That was so much fun, and the food here is so great." Luffy cheered. "Might be even better than Sanji's."

"You guys," Goku smiled before adding eagerly, "you've got the appetites of Saiyans. You have to be in my tier, right?"

Toriko and Luffy both looked at each other before Toriko spoke up, folding his arms. "Well, that would have to depend." He pointed out. "Are you in the Stellar Tier?"

"Or are you in the Tit-tonic Tier?" Luffy asked, clearly mispronouncing the name of his own tier.

Toriko gave Luffy a deadpan stare. "Err...kid, I think you meant the Tectonic Tier." He noted, before giggling a bit at the mispronunciation immaturely. He was still a kid at heart. "Although, that is a hilarious way of pronouncing it."

Goku frowned, realizing that neither of these guys-whom he was honestly starting to like-were in his tier. "Aww man," he whined, "I really wanted to meet at least one or two contestants."

Toriko gazed at Goku in slight sympathy. He then smiled, an idea coming to him. "Goku," he said, "if you want to meet one of your competitors that badly, why not just announce you're a part of the Multi-Universal Tier and that you want to meet a fellow competitor?"

Toriko went back to eating his meal after saying that, which turned out to be a huge mistake as when Goku realized how great an idea that was, he happily slapped Toriko on the back. Toriko let out a gasp as he began choking on his food. "That's a great idea!"

Toriko desperately tried to swallow the food he was now choking on as Goku rose from his seat. Luffy looked completely uninterested in Toriko's plight. "Hey!" Goku called. "Is there anyone here who's competing in the Multi-Universal Tier? My name is Goku and I'm a Saiyan from Earth. I'd really like to meet you!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at Goku like he was crazy. Then, much to everyone's surprise, someone actually emerged from the crowd. It was a young man in a strange suit of armor with a helmet piece that looked strangely like a pegasus.

He gave Goku a friendly smile. "Yo." He greeted.

Goku grinned eagerly. "You part of my tier?" He asked, stepping up to the young man to get a better look at him.

The young man nodded. "What's your name?" Goku asked.

"Seiya," Pegasus Seiya, Bronze Saint of Athena responded, "it's nice to meet you, Goku. When I heard that there were only a few people in the Multi-Universal Tier, I immediately thought there had to have been some real strong fighters. Fighters on the level of the gods themselves."

Goku chuckled sheepishly. "Well, I'm not normally one to brag, but I did obtain a godlike level once. I've only been getting stronger since then"

Seiya smirked, cocking his fist back. "Mind if I test something real quick."

Goku grinned. "Not at all."

Toriko managed to get his food down and his eyes widened. "Whoa, whoa, pretty sure fighting outside of the tournament is against the rules you two!" He tried to play peacemaker.

The power of cosmos surrounded Seiya's body, ignoring Toriko's warnings as he threw his signature move at Goku. "Pegasus Meteor Fist!" Seiya silenced Toriko with an unseeable flurry of punches.

Toriko's mouth dropped open in disbelief. _I...can't keep up with that kid's movements._ Toriko realized. _Holy crap. I think he might be faster than Starjun!_

One by one, contestants everywhere gazed at Seiya in disbelief when they realized just how fast he was moving. Monkey D. Luffy actually paused in his feasting to stare at the display. Naruto Uzumaki's mouth dropped open like Toriko's had. Issei Hyoudou looked like he was about to fall to his knees in disbelief. Natsu Dragneel had stars in his eyes, amazed by Seiya's display in power. Asta was in a similar boat. _SO COOL!_ He squealed inwardly.

Saitama, who had just arrived and was now gathering a plate of food of his own, froze from the display of power. He turned to see the event taking place behind him. And then, without even realizing it, a smile curled and a fire seemed to return to his lifeless eyes.

And Goku, it seemed he was just standing there, smiling with interest at Seiya's attack. Then, all of a sudden, Seiya stopped punching. He remained silent for a brief moment before laughing heartily. "Oh man," he said with glee, "you actually blocked every single one of my punches. Yeah, you're gonna be quite the opponent."

Toriko gazed at Goku in shock. "Whoa...he blocked all of those punches? I didn't even see him make any moves to block the attack."

Goku chuckled. "You're giving me a bit too much credit here, Seiya." He admitted. "I almost missed a few of those punches. And you were holding back weren't you?"

Seiya smirked. "Yeah," he said, "like I said, this was only a test. Last thing I want is to be disqualified. I'd disgrace Lady Athena."

Goku laughed. "I hope we fight for real then." He admitted. "I clearly need to sneak in some training if I'm going to be able to take you on at full force."

Goku and Seiya looked at each other and laughed some more. "You were holding back too." Seiya pointed out. "I think I'm the one who needs to sneak in some extra training. Especially since I've been asleep for so long."

Goku smiled. "Then let's both make a promise to not hold back when we do fight." Goku suggested, holding his hand out. "Full force, no reserves. I want to fight you at your best. And in return, I'll fight you at mine."

Seiya smiled back. "It's a promise." He said, shaking Goku's hand with no hesitation.

Toriko narrowed his eyes before smirking ferally. "So these two are among _real_ the heavy hitters of this tournament. The star attractions." He realized. "Whether I win or lose my tier, I better get some more training in. I'd hate to be behind either of them forever."

Natsu grinned, flanked by Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster, and Erza Scarlet. "Is that really the level of the strongest in this tournament?" He mused. "I'm really getting fired up now. Can't wait for when it's my turn."

Jotaro Kujo, who had also witnessed the whole thing with his grandfather from the past and great great grandfather, heaved a sigh. "Gimme a break." He muttered. "Guess I should be glad I don't have to fight him."

Saitama just smiled. "I'm actually kind of getting excited now." He simply noted.

After Goku and Seiya's handshake ended, four young men dressed similarly to Seiya, walked up to him. "Seiya," Dragon Shiryu was in the lead, "We...found where Lady Athena has taken up residence. It appears the Overseer decided to give the gods from the multiverse a spectator's box similar to that of the contestants."

Seiya gazed at Shiryu. "Saori…" he said softly, thinking about his charge.

Andromeda Shun gave Seiya a small smile. "We told her everything." Shun said. "She wants to see you, Seiya."

Seiya nodded in understanding. "This protector of Athena has been gone for far too long." He said, surprisingly calm now. "Take me there."

As the other four famed Bronze Saints of Athena took Seiya to their liege, Seiya could not help but think back to when he had emerged from the portal to greet his old friends, whom had been lead to believe he would not wake up from his cursed coma, courtesy of the Lord of the Dead, Hades.

That reunion could best be summed up in a single moment…

" _SEIYA!" Seiya had no time to respond as he was suddenly tackled in an embrace by his four happy, tearful friends, even Ikki had allowed himself to show a little more emotion than usual._

As the Bronze Saints left the area. Goku just smiled. "Man, that guy is something." He muttered.

Then, Haika entered the hall. She noticed everyone's shocked expressions and raised a curious eyebrow. "What's wrong? Did I miss something interesting?" She asked. "Oh well, I'm here to inform you all that Daisuke and Kaji are about to announce the beginning of Block A. The participants in Block A should be receiving the news through a telepathic message momentarily, made possible by those brands the Lord Overseer placed on you before the tournament."

The mood tensed, as everyone awaited their fates…

Meanwhile, gods from across the multiverse were enjoying the pleasures of the Divine Spectator's Box. Beerus the Destroyer, God of Destruction in Universe 7 was sleeping with his attendant, Whis, dutifully standing next to him. Dende, current guardian of the Dragon Universe's Earth, was visibly uncomfortable. Simply to name a few deities that were currently present. And to top it all off a beautiful, lavender haired girl dressed in garbs similar to that of a Greek, sat in solitude.

Saori Kido, the current incarnation of the Greek Goddess, Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, was awaiting the return of her beloved Bronze Saints, one Bronze Saint in particular. One she had thought that in spite of all her efforts, she would never be able to awaken him from his cursed slumber again.

"Saori?"

Saori's eyes immediately began to water at the familiarity of that voice. A part of her almost did not want to look, afraid that this was all just a cruel, sick dream. Her mind playing tricks on her. However, deep down, she knew she had to know if it was true.

She looked to see her most loyal protector, Pegasus Seiya, giving her his usual smile. "Er...sorry I was asleep for so long." Seiya said in embarrassment.

No words were needed, as far as Saori was concerned. She was out of her seat in a split second and threw her arms around her champion, crying freely. Even Whis, who normally had a permanent smile on his face (which made it hard to tell if it was genuine or not), found himself giving a genuine smile at how sweet and pure this reunion was.

As the Goddess of Wisdom wept tears of joy, Daisuke and Kaji's voices returned to the Colosseum once more. "Break time's over, folks." Kaji said. "Would all contestants of Urban Tier Block A please make their way to the arena?"

 **A.N: It is definitely always weird to write moments of characterization like this. I mean, even FWW has enough plot to have character moments. But this is pure fan service. Hope everyone enjoyed it all the same.**


	14. Chapter 14: Let The Prelims Begin

**Chapter 14**

 **Let the Prelims Begin**

 **Block A Enters the Labyrinth**

"So, I know this is gonna sound weird to some of ya, but I can assure you, it's the truth." Kaji began. "If you hear a voice in your head saying 'you're in Block A, please make your way to the arena', listen to it and head down to the arena."

"Considering the massive amount of competitors in this particular tier, we would be here all day just listing your names, so we'll be using the far more simple and far more effective method of doing this." Daisuke said. "So just as Kaji said, if you hear a voice in your head telling you to go to the arena, please listen to it."

Several seconds passed. Kaji smirked as contestants began emerging from. "Eager to get started, nice." He grinned.

Izuku Midoriya and Class 1A did not hesitate to cheer on their two representatives. "Todoroki, Sato!" Izuku shouted, even though Shoto Todoroki and Rikido Sato could most likely not hear them. "Do your best! You're totally going to make it to the elimination rounds!"

"Represent Class 1A, Todoroki! Sato!" Eijirou Kirishima cheered.

"AVENGE ME!" Minoru Mineta shouted as hammily as possible.

Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long were in a similar situation, cheering for their two dear friends. "Go Weiss!" Ruby cheered. "You do your best too, Blake! Represent Team RWBY! I want to see all four of us make it to the elimination rounds!"

"You better not lose you two!" Yang added. "You'll make Team RWBY look bad if you do! That'd make me sad, and you two do not want to make me sad!"

As the sisters cheered solely for Blake and Weiss, Lie Ren looked at the two of them in disbelief. "Did they...forget that Jaune and Nora was participating as well?" Ren inquired.

Ren heaved a sigh before giving a smile. "Well, I guess that'll just mean I'm going to have to cheer even louder for Nora and Jaune." He decided. Then, surprising himself, Ren clapped his hands to his mouth and shouted. "Nora, Jaune! You've got this!"

Jonathan Joestar smiled with pride at the two competitors whom had carried on his lineage. "Jotaro, Joseph, I wish you both the best of luck." He said softly.

Old Joseph Joestar just laughed. "Give them a bit more credit, Gramps." He said, not missing the irony of a far older man calling someone Jonathan's age 'Gramps.' "They're of your blood. The young me has this in the bag, as does Jotaro. He's more clever than me and stronger than you. He certainly does the Joestar name proud with his might."

Jonathan smiled even brighter at that statement. "I cannot wait to see them in action then." He admitted. "I want to see it...how the Joestars have grown since my time."

"I've just received word that all 120 contestants are ready to begin." Daisuke announced. "Perfect timing, as the arena for our first prelim game has just been chosen. Contestants, you are about to experience something quite odd. I advise you not to fear and simply let it happen. All will make sense momentarily."

Immediately, the floor below Urban Tier Block A vanished like magic. The spectating contestants watched in horror as their fellow contestants seemed to fall before floating in midair. Then, much to everyone's disbelief, a large mass began to take shape, surrounding the contestants. Izuku let out a gasp as the mass then revealed itself as a giant labyrinth.

"Whoa! That's going to be the battlefield they're fighting on?" Izuku exclaimed.

The crowd around the spectators went wild. "That's right, ladies and gentlemen." Kaji said with a grin. "Our first prelim will be...Labyrinth!"

"No worries, this is a simple one." Daisuke promised. "The object of the game is simple. You have to traverse the labyrinth and eliminate competitors as you come across them. This prelim will continue until 64 out of the original 120 remain."

"A couple quick ground rules though." Kaji interrupted. "You can't leave the labyrinth until the prelims are over. In fact, honestly, there is no exit. But you can forfeit. In fact, you're under no obligation to finish the fights you end up in. You can retreat any time and regain your strength. But be careful, if your opponent decides to give chase, you better hope you can elude them."

"Also, most games that involve these labyrinths forbid going above the labyrinth with flight. We're going to throw that out the window. You can fly above the labyrinth, but you can't spend your entire time above it. If you decide to fly to seek out your enemies, you have three minutes before you have to land." Kaji continued. "This way, contestants need to be on the lookout for attacks from every possible angle."

"Other than that, normal tournament rules apply." Daisuke added. "As for our spectators. We understand that this is a massive field, and you can't possibly keep track of it all. To make the viewpoint easier, we are giving you all access to miniature screens that hold the names of all contestants. Just click on that contestant's name, and you will be able to focus entirely on them. The screens should appear in front of you now."

Jonathan gasped as the screen appeared in front of him. "I'm still not used to all this sorcery." He admitted.

"After all that time fighting with Hamon?" Old Joseph looked at his grandfather in confusion. "Well, whatever, why don't I watch Jotaro and you can watch Young Me?"

"I suppose that is a good way to keep track of both of them." Jonathan acknowledged. "And I must admit, seeing my grandson in battle in his prime does sound enticing."

Old Joseph knew Jonathan was a gentleman through and through, and he was obviously aware of how the younger version of him fought. He almost told Jonathan to lower his expectations but relented.

Ruby and Yang had a similar idea. "You keep track of Weiss, and I'll keep track of Blake." Yang told her little sister. "Don't be afraid to sneak a peek if Blake's doing something cool."

"Our medical team, as always, is on standby if things get messy." Kaji promised. "But if you're worried about us not finding you in the labyrinth, don't worry, as soon as you drop out, or if Haika-who's watching from above-calls you out of the game, you'll be teleported to our medical bay for any treatment you may need."

"Now then," Kaji continued, his feral grin returning in anticipation of the battles ahead, "I think we've kept everyone waiting long enough! Now get out there and kick each other's asses!"

"Or to put in a less crude manner." Daisuke said stiffly. "Let the Block A Prelim begin!"

Inside the labyrinth, Shoto Todoroki immediately took note of his surroundings. "If the idea is to avoid being ambushed," Todoroki noted, "then it'd be smarter to impede my opponent's progress from behind."

Todoroki spun around and swung his right arm into the air. Immediately, a massive glacier of ice appeared in front of Todoroki, blocking off the area behind him. "There's no reason to search and leave myself open to attacks." He reasoned. "If someone wishes to face me, it'd be better to do so on my terms."

Then, much to Todoroki's shock, Kaji immediately yelled out. "And we've already got our first few dropouts!"

"That quickly?" Todoroki was stunned. "That's...what?"

"Already?" Izuku could not help but yell in disbelief. "What even happened? Who got attacked? Who even attacked?"

"Nobarly of Quatro Cerberus, and Chimera Ants Mosquito and Bat, unfortunately did not even get a chance to show their stuff." Kaji admitted. "The thing about this labyrinth is that you're thrown in a random spot. If you've got the misfortune to run into one of the heavy hitters, well you're SOL."

"Who even attacked those three though?" Jonathan was stunned. "They couldn't have been taken out that quickly unless it was a sneak attack."

Old Joseph thought it over. Sneak attacks...enough raw power to bring down someone at an impressive speed. "Having the raw power to take someone out a minute into the prelims. But also do it via a sneak attack." He shook his head. "Boy, does that take me back. I wonder if whoever did that has the same skills as _they_ do."

"They?" Jonathan looked at Old Joseph.

"Old enemies you wouldn't know." Old Joseph responded before a thought occurred to him. "I wonder if we're allowed to get a glimpse at who brought down these people before they're transported to the medical bay."

Old Joseph scrolled through and quickly found Nobarly's name and pressed on it. A screen appeared and much to his horror, a very familiar face stood above the bloody form of Nobarly. Jonathan watched in surprise as all color drained from his elderly grandson's face.

"Oh my God," Old Joseph muttered, "why did he have to be here?"

"One other thing I feel like I should point out," Kaji suddenly spoke out, "the one responsible for these three eliminations is the same guy. So if you have the misfortune of running into him, unless you're feeling spry, I suggest you run."

As Nobarly was transported away from the labyrinth, his assailant took the opportunity to examine the blood on his blades. It was different from human blood.

He gazed at the labyrinth walls, which were starting to reform after he cut through them. "I thought there was something different about those lifeforms on the other side." He mused. "To think I had just attacked a completely different species."

Three horns adorning his forehead gleamed underneath the tournament lights. Long dark hair flowed behind him. The Pillar Man, Kars, after so long, had resumed thinking. "I think I'll wish for the Red Stone of Aja once more." He decided with a dark smirk. "And become a proper Ultimate Lifeform."

"And after the tournament's over," he continued, "I'll make sure to kill that JoJo properly."

Meanwhile, another old enemy of the Joestars was casually strolling through the labyrinth, clearly uncaring of who might come across him. The way he carried himself would make you think he was certain he had already won his entire tier, and not just this block.

Behind him, Lip "Service" Doughty, a pirate worth 88 million beris, raised a saw like blade as he approached the man from behind. "How oblivious." Doughty chuckled lowly as he leapt at his "victim."

The arrogant man smirked as Doughty neared him with his saw like blade. Then, in an instant, a spectral fist appeared out of nowhere, slamming into Doughty and knocking him right into a wall. His mouth contorted horribly due to the sheer force of the punch, making his big lips look even more ugly to the sight.

Doughty groaned as he slumped to the ground. "Oblivious, you say?" Doughty's intended victim just chuckled. "Filthy vermin. I could smell you from miles away. Did you really think you could sneak up on me?"

Dio Brando turned to Doughty's unconscious form. "You aren't even worth using my Stand's power you vermin!" He declared. "You actually thought you could ambush I, the immortal Dio? How unbelievably foolish and arrogant of you! Unless you belong to _that_ bloodline, the very thought of trying to fight me, let alone defeat me, should be considered a cardinal sin!"

"Let me be clear to all who is listening!" Dio continued. "If you really think you can win this tournament, or perhaps if you think you've picked the winner of this tournament, then I'm afraid you're going to want to rethink that statement. For regardless of what you may think, the reality is that the winner will be I, Dio!"

"Well, it looks like in response to Kars' early statement, immortal Dio Brando has made a statement of his own, eliminating Lip Doughty!" Kaji announced.

Jonathan's eyes widened. "Dio?!" He exclaimed while Erina paled in horror at the thought of the man who had nearly ruined her beloved's life coming back.

Old Joseph scrolled through the contestants and came across Dio. "I'm sorry, Gramps...it's true." Old Joseph managed to remain calm, clicking on Dio's name and revealing the vampire enjoying his triumph over the pirate.

Jonathan gazed at Old Joseph's screen and paled. That was indeed Dio. However…

"Hold on," Jonathan spoke up, "Dio...why does he look different? That's not the Dio I knew from back then."

Old Joseph grimaced. How exactly do you tell someone your arch nemesis stole their body for his own use?

Meanwhile, Jotaro Kujo narrowed his eyes in anger. "That bastard is here." He snarled. "Dio, you just don't know how to stay dead, huh?"

"For Lady Zazan!" Jotaro rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to his opponent, a monstrous, bug-like humanoid pouncing at him.

"And as for you," Jotaro frowned, "I don't know who this Lady Zazan is, and frankly I don't care. All I know is that she's the only thing you've been screaming about since you found me, and frankly, it's starting to hurt my ears."

"I will win this tournament for Lady Zazan!" Pike the Chimera Ant exclaimed, pointing his rear at Jotaro. "Lovely Shower!"

Jotaro watched in mild disgust as a giant web was fired from Pike's rear towards him. It was already complete, and not just mere webbing. "Good grief," he muttered, "and here I thought dealing with Stands that created freaking barnacles would be the grossest thing I dealt with."

Jotaro then narrowed his eyes. "Well, no matter what gets sent at me, I'll just do what I always do. Punch it away! Ain't that right, Star Platinum!"

With that, Star Platinum appeared in front of Jotaro. Pike watched in mild interest as Star Platinum put its fists up. It was planning to punch his web away. "What foolishness, that web is a reflection of my love! Unbreakable! The strands are so powerful that even our physically strongest Squad Leader can't break them!"

"Ora!" Star Platinum began rapidly punching the dead center of the web. "Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora!"

Pike then watched in horror as his web began to break apart. "Wh-what?!" He exclaimed as the web completely shattered into tiny strands.

"Yeah, yeah, and nobody can just deflect the Emerald Splash either." Jotaro pointed out. "But be warned, underestimate my Stand's physical strength at your own peril! Now, time to squash you, bug!"

Star Platinum then rocketed towards Pike and began throwing a rapid flurry of punches at the Chimera Ant's midsection. "Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora!" Star Platinum yelled before delivering a final punch to Pike's face. "ORA!"

Pike yelled as his massive body flipped into the air before crashing down. His body grossly twitched before going limp as he fell unconscious. "Apply enough strength and force and even the stickiest substance won't stick." Jotaro explained. "For a brief moment, your web did get stuck to Star Platinum's fists. Multiple times in fact. But with every punch he completed, the sheer force ripped your web's grip away."

"That's why spiders will make sure their webs have plenty of surfaces to stick to, should one strand come loose. Next time, act like a real spider and make the damn web _properly_ if you want an actual chance at winning. Don't just fire it like a net."

Meanwhile, Young Joseph Joestar found himself staring down the club owner (and forever blonde-phobic) Hei Xiong, aka Junior. "Okay, seriously, what the hell is up with that bat of yours?" Joseph asked. "That thing looks weird as hell. It looks like something out of a Superman comic for crying out loud."

Junior raised an eyebrow at Joseph's state. "Huh, I can't sense any Aura from you." He noted. "But you're clearly a trained fighter if you're here. Well, I guess I'll just have to avoid using the bazooka."

"HUH?! Where the hell do you keep a bazooka?" Joseph demanded.

"A lot you don't know about kid." Junior admitted. "But, I wouldn't dwell on it too much, since ya won't be in this tournament for much longer!"

Junior rushed Joseph, who flailed his hands about fearfully. "Wait a minute, I'm unarmed! You can't attack an unarmed man with a bat like that!"

"Oh bull crap!" Junior yelled. "You're here, that means you can fight! That means you're not unarmed!"

"Well, if you're going to swing it, please aim for my chest! Don't hit below the belt and don't hit the face. I plan to use what's below the belt and I worked hard to make my face look this good!" Joseph pleaded.

"Trust me, I don't like being hit below the belt either!" Junior acknowledged. "But your face is mine! I've gotta knock you out cold somehow!"

Joseph sighed, removing his scarf (a brand new scarf to replace his old one that he lost after all that stuff with the Pillar Men). "Worth a shot." He said before smirking. "Hamon!"

Joseph imbued Ripple into his scarf, much like his mother, Lisa Lisa. Junior almost ended his attack in shock. "See, you lying sack of crap!" Junior yelled. "I don't know what you're going to do with that scarf, but there's no way in hell it can stand up to my bat!"

Junior swung his bat at Joseph. "Don't be so sure!" Joseph yelled, throwing his scarf like a whip and watching it wrap around Junior's bat, stopping it cold.

"Wh-what? Why can't I move my bat?" Junior demanded.

Joseph smirked. "Your next line is: 'What the hell is this scarf made of you brat?'"

"What the hell is this scarf made of you brat-huh?!" Junior's eyes widened in disbelief. How did Joseph know he would say that?

Joseph reached down and pulled a bottle of champagne from his spectator's box out of his pocket. "I couldn't help but notice that nowhere in the rules did it say bringing in objects from the outside was out of the question." He said. "And seeing as though Lisa Lisa did not want me drunk before I fought, I think I'm going to get a use out of this champagne another way!"

"H-huh?" Junior watched as Joseph pointed the champagne bottle at his face.

Joseph then changed the bottle's direction. "Hamon!" He yelled, as the champagne bottle's cork rocketed straight into Junior's crotch.

Junior yelled in pain, clutching his groin and collapsing to his knees. "And now the next thing you'll say is: 'you bastard! After all you said about not wanting to get hit below the belt?'"

"You bastard! After all you said about not wanting to get hit below the belt?" Junior's eyes widened again. How in the world was he doing that?

Joseph smirked. "As long as a fight is kept between the participants, any kinds of tricks and deceptions are acceptable. And obviously, I don't want to get hit in the balls, but that doesn't mean it won't happen. Which means you should have no complaints if it happens to you!"

Jonathan Joestar watched his grandson's fighting style in sheer disbelief. "My family's honor." He wept comically.

Joseph then rushed Junior while he was vulnerable. "Now take this, Hamon Overdrive!" He yelled, delivering a karate chop to Junior's neck, and hitting him with a blast of Hamon.

Junior let out a pained grunt before slumping over, unconscious. Joseph then walked over to Junior's bat and hefted it with surprising ease. "This thing looks like it could do some damage." He smiled before addressing the announcers of all people. "Hey, announcers! Is it alright if I use someone else's weapon?"

"Er...just as long as you return it after the prelims." Daisuke responded.

"Cool, thanks!" Joseph waved his hand gratefully as he walked off with his new trophy to find his next opponent.

Back with Todoroki, the hero in training could not help but grimace slightly as he heard the sounds of battle across the labyrinth. Todoroki was normally an unshakable person. However, he was still just a kid. He could feel his limbs shake slightly.

 _Get a hold of yourself,_ Todoroki told himself, _you have no right to be this frightened. It's not like that monster that went head to head with All Might is here. You're going to be fine and you're going to win this. You're going to win this, and you're going to wish…_

Todoroki was suddenly cut off by the sound of his ice shattering. He looked over his shoulder and gasped to see a monstrous lobster-man rushing towards him, training its claws on him like a gun.

Bloster, a former Squad Leader of the Chimera Ant NGL hive, remained silent, blasting at Todoroki with bullets of Nen. Todoroki gasped, finding himself on the defensive and frantically leaping backwards to avoid Bloster's attack.

"Todoroki is on the run?" Momo Yaoyorozu exclaimed in disbelief.

"I've never seen that." Kirishima added while Izuku gazed at Todoroki's retreat in fear.

Todoroki, without thinking, swung his hand upwards. "Damn it!" He cursed in frustration and fear, managing to create a massive glacier that encased Bloster, much to his relief.

However, using his Quirk to create two massive blocks of ice were starting to wear on Todoroki just a bit, he found himself swaying due to the frostbite affecting his body. Unbeknownst to Todoroki, a certain traitorous Shinobi was taking the opportunity to attack him from behind.

Mizuki, a former Chunin of the Hidden Leaf Village, smirked with tremendous blood lust as he made his way to Todoroki, raising a giant shuriken over his head. _I really do hate kids._ He admitted to himself. _Especially ones with more power than me. Go down, you brat._

Then, without thinking, Todoroki aimed his left hand outwards, right at Mizuki. Mizuki's eyes widened as Todoroki enveloped him in a powerful blast of flames, making him scream out in pain.

The odd thing about this moment was that Todoroki was not even attacking anyone. He did not even notice Mizuki's presence. He was so concerned about the frostbite from overusing the ice-half of his Quirk, he instinctively used the flames of his fire-half to reheat his body. Mizuki was just the poor schlub who was caught in the middle of the attack. Could not have happened to a nicer guy, frankly.

"And with that, now Bloster and Mizuki have been eliminated as well." Daisuke announced. "One frozen in a block of ice, and one cooked to perfection."

"This bears repeating, ladies and gentlemen, in the span of a few minutes, we've already seen the elimination of eight out of the fifty-six competitors that need to be eliminated before we can determine a quarter of the participants in the elimination round." Kaji grinned. "In other words, the stakes have just been raised along with the tier that is fighting it out for your entertainment!"

"So don't touch that remote and keep your eyes and ears peeled, because we're just getting started!"

 **A.N: A hellish labyrinth and 120 competitors vying for 64 spots. Should be fun!**


	15. Chapter 15: Survival of the Fittest

**AN: So, big announcement,** **for anyone who enjoys my writing and wants to see some original content, check out my profile, because I just added an update for my original novel: Age of Heroes.**

 **Chapter 15**

 **Survival of the Fittest**

 **A Devil's Return and a Princess' Struggle**

When spending most of your time in the company of death, one became very aware of the mortality of those around you. This was especially true when you find yourself face to face with someone who by all accounts should be dead and yet is still here. Weirdly enough, this applied to both men who were standing face to face at the moment. One, a heavily bandaged behemoth of a man with a samurai's sword strapped to his hip. And the other: a pirate with two tonfas with iron balls at the end.

Indeed, both men should be dead. In the case of Man Demon Gin, the former first mate of the Krieg Pirates, after inhaling a lethal amount of toxic gas, he should be dead. However, the man had managed to stay alive through sheer willpower, and was now in the Multiverse Tournament for a cure.

The other...well, he had no particular wish. He just wanted to see a tournament where it truly was survival of the fittest. However, his mere presence was enough to unsettle certain spectators, because he should indeed be dead.

Kenshin Himura narrowed his eyes at the dark reflection of himself. "Makoto Shishio." He growled uncharacteristically.

"The hell's that bastard doing alive?" Sanosuke Sagara leapt from his seat in shock. "He should be burning in hell! You know, like how he died!"

Kenshin took a deep breath and calmed himself. "We cannot forget that this tournament does not seem to care about the concepts of life and death, that it does not. As far as this world is concerned...if it's entertaining enough, it's allowed to participate."

"Che, but still." Sanosuke still hated it. "Don't they realize what kind of world Shishio would wish for if he won? That crazy bastard would make his bloody world where the strong survive a reality!"

"Then we simply won't allow him to win, that we won't." Kenshin said calmly.

Kaoru Kamiya looked at Kenshin in surprise. _He says that so easily...but I know Kenshin is worried about him. It took everything he had just to survive against Shishio...and he did not even win in the end. Shishio's body...it simply gave out. And now this monster is walking around among the land of the living._

Makoto Shishio chuckled and drew his sword, pointing it right at Gin's face. "You should be dead," he noted in amusement, "do not think I can't tell a sick man when I see one."

Gin remained silent, staring down Shishio and his blade with a surprising amount of courage. Shishio smirked. "You know, I strive for a world where only the strong survive." He explained. "A more just world in the sense. After all, it is the way of the samurai for strength to decide what is right. But you...the fact that you're holding out in spite of whatever it is that ails you is impressive. Consider me impressed!"

"What is your point?" Gin calmly inquired. "Get to the point, or face me now."

"He speaks!" Shishio laughed heartily. "Well now, I'll come right out and say it! Join me! Your strength of will gives you the right to live in a world governed by power! And who knows, perhaps together we can find a cure for that which ails you? I would hate to see a flame like yours snuffed out so inelegantly."

"I refuse." Gin said simply.

"Oh?" Shishio looked genuinely disappointed. "So, you're not even going to bother with such a generous offer?"

"I did not join this tournament to start over with someone else." Gin claimed. "I joined because I wanted to make a fresh start as my own man, one who did not have to fear anything anymore, be it the Grand Line, my own superiors, or men who completely outclass me."

Shishio frowned. "Well, I don't know much about this Grand Line of yours." He admitted. "But with an attitude like that, I almost regret that I have to cut you down now."

Gin responded by twirling his tonfas. "Not if I take you down first." Gin said in that deathly calm tone of his. "I...I'm not afraid of you...nor will I be afraid of anyone or anything else."

Shishio smirked, genuinely impressed by Gin's resolve. "If you have the strength to back up that desire, then come at me with everything you've got!"

 _I cannot take too much time though._ Shishio thought to himself. _My battles must be strictly limited to 15 minutes at most. And in a preliminary where I will have to most likely fight multiple times, this will be a trial._

 _I'll end this quickly and meditate to cool off my body._ Shishio decided. _Because I certainly refuse to turn tail and run from anyone who decides to challenge Makoto Shishio! That itself would spit in the face of the ideals I strive for!_

Shishio was cut from his musings by Gin's sudden attack. The mummified samurai leapt away just as Gin smashed the ground with one of his tonfas. "Such raw strength!" Shishio exclaimed. "Come now, surely someone like you would much rather put that to better use!"

"I told you...my only dream is to conquer my fear. To no longer fear anything!" Gin declared.

Shishio nodded in understanding, now truly readying himself for battle. "Very well," he said, "then I shall not make you fear me before I cut you down. I will simply cut you down. Consider it the only act of respect you'll receive from a devil like me!"

Gin nodded in understanding and rushed Shishio intent on driving him into a wall with his tonfas. Shishio smirked and ran his blade across his scabbard. "Now, taste the flames of hell, courtesy of my Mugenjin!" Shishio yelled. "Ichi no Hiken: Homura Dama!"

Gin's eyes widened in surprise as the blade suddenly ignited into flames. Taking advantage of that distract, Shishio slashed him across his torso, burning him as well. Gin grunted in pain. Shishio chuckled. "The Three Secret Swords, three secret techniques that only one man has ever matched in battle. So you could say that crossing blades with him is...truly special. Oh, Battousai, I truly hope we meet again on the field of battle!"

Gin regained his composure and leapt at Shishio again, trying to take advantage of the fact that Shishio seemed darkly interested in this "Battousai" individual. Gin swung straight at Shishio's head, intent on driving him right into the wall with his tonfas. Shishio, however, was a skilled samurai with years of battle experience.

He was not the type to be distracted so easily…

As the ball on Gin's tonfa neared Shishio's head, the bandaged man revealed incredible speed, practically vanishing underneath the ball, avoiding Gin's attack in its entirety. Shishio then laughed madly and grabbed Gin by his collar. "Ni no Hiken!" Shishio yelled. "Guren Kaina!"

With that chilling yell, Shishio ran his blade across a gauntlet on his hand. Unbeknownst to Gin, that gauntlet was filled with gunpowder. And so, with the sparks created from Shishio's Mugenjin, a mighty explosion rang out, engulfing Gin in flames.

Shishio was pushed back from the force of the attack while Gin was knocked onto his back. Shishio calmly shook his hand, as though he were trying to get back the feeling in a limb that had fallen asleep. Realistically his hand should have been blown to smithereens by the explosion. Then again, fire should have no effect on a devil like Makoto Shishio.

"The strong live and the weak die." Shishio reminded Gin. "That is the natural order of the world! Kill or be killed! Eat or be eaten! There is no justice in a world that does not recognize this cruel but true reality! The country of Japan...they were a country built on this very strength. Those who deny her of that strength...will be the first targets of my purge!"

"It's simply a shame that I am not allowed to kill in this tournament." Shishio admitted. "Death is an honor to those who have fought well in battle. Us samurai...deep down we crave it. A death by glorious combat."

"He hasn't changed a bit." Kaoru commented hatefully. "There's more to samurai then that."

"In a way, he's right." Kenshin solemnly acknowledged. "Samurai are weapons who kill, just like swords. And we live and die for glorious combat."

"But just as I told you that night, Ms. Kaoru," Kenshin smiled warmly, "I much prefer your innocent and naive way of looking at things."

Elsewhere, the Night Raid assassin called Akame could not help but shiver at the sight of Shishio's behavior. Her dear comrade Tatsumi, noticed Akame's state and nodded in understanding. "I hear you," he said, "it's like looking at Esdeath all over again. Those two would get along swimmingly."

"It'd be a match made in hell." Tatsumi's wife, the genius sniper Mine, growled, still unable to forgive the monster called Esdeath for everything she had done.

"There's a difference though." Night Raid's leader, Najenda, pointed out. "This Shishio actually has a cause he believes in. Esdeath...that woman was simply a monster who strove to kill as many people as possible, just to prove her own darwinistic mentality."

"In a way, a part of me actually respects Shishio." Najenda admitted. "Twisted as his goals may be, he's actually striving for something. More than I could ever say about Esdeath."

Tatsumi definitely could not argue with that. "You know...there is a chance we could run into her again."

"Will you be ready to face her if necessary, Tatsumi?" Najenda inquired curiously.

"I was ready to face her back then, and I'm ready to face her now." Tatsumi promised. "And if that happens, this time, I will win."

Najenda chuckled and gazed at Tatsumi, taking in his once-again human form and Mine happily clinging to him. "Tatsumi," she said kindly, "I know I'm going to sound like a broken record...but it really is good to have you back to the way you were before."

Tatsumi just smiled at Najenda for that statement. Back at the fight between Shishio and Gin, the bandaged samurai watched in amusement as Gin suddenly began rising to his feet. "Your resolve is quite sincere." Shishio commented before darkly smiling. "I like it."

Gin just glared at Shishio. Shishio nodded, understanding what Gin wanted to say, but was in too much pain to come right out with it. "I know," he said, "you're not afraid of me."

Gin rushed Shishio once more, twirling his tonfas and wildly swinging them at Shishio, desperate to get some kind of hit. Shishio just smirked and leaned in and out of Gin's attacks. "In spite of your many weaknesses, you fought with courage and honor, befitting of a samurai." Shishio acknowledged. "A man who can push himself through illness and fear is someone to be admired."

"However, this is where our time ends." Shishio continued. "Now fall."

With that single command, Shishio swung Mugenjin upwards, delivering a deep diagonal cut across Gin's torso. Gin let out a gasp before he began to fall backwards. "Damn it…" Gin could only utter.

"Illness...fear...injuries...to think you still fought through them all." Shishio sighed as Gin's body vanished into light, signifying his dropping out of the tournament. "What a pity...I truly would've liked to enjoy the thrill of fighting you at your best."

"Another drop out, ladies and gentlemen!" Kaji announced. "Man-Demon Gin has fallen against the Battousai's successor, Makoto Shishio.

"As expected." Shishio nodded before taking a seat to meditate. "Now, to rest and cool off so that I do not burn out."

"But it's not just Don Krieg's former right hand man who's journey has come to an end." Kaji continued. "We have also seen dropouts from all over the labyrinth. Buchi of the Meowban Brothers, Ruruko Nimura of Sona Sitri's peerage, Tatami Nakagame from Ketsubutsu Academy, Chimera Ant Boki, Gin's fellow shipmate Pearl, Menoly Mallia, even Fuguki Suikazan and Toroi of the Magnet-Style, two famous Shinobi, were unable to weather the challenge of their respective opponents."

"This is the beauty of Labyrinth as a prelim." Daisuke explained. "It forces half of the competitors to fight conservatively, but the other half to aggressively hunt for enemies. Expect to see rapid dropouts like we are currently. But as the eliminations pile up, we can also expect things to slow down just a tad."

"But just remember, we are cutting down Block A to 64 contestants. Don't think just sitting around and waiting is going to cut it forever." Kaji giddily pointed out. "Eventually, to guarantee your spot in the single-elimination rounds, you're going to have to go on the hunt. Or at least have a good enough defense in case your opponent finds you."

Meanwhile, Weiss Schnee, one quarter of Team RWBY, was running around the labyrinth. Weiss had a vastly different strategy from many other competitors. She knew a few of her friends were in the labyrinth, so she wanted to find them and team up with them, instead of going it alone. That was a perfectly valid strategy and it increased their chances of getting a wish they all wanted.

However, inwardly, Weiss was immensely worried. Mainly because she was constantly hearing about eliminations. _Seventeen contestants have already been eliminated._ Weiss noted. _It hasn't even been an hour yet, and we're already over a quarter of the way to the number of contestants that will be moving onto the elimination rounds._

 _I should've realized this when the Superhuman Tier was going through their first round, but we only got a taste of what kind of power we'd be dealing with in this tournament._ Weiss noted. _This tier...it's leagues above anything I saw in the previous. The fact that competitors are already dropping so quickly is proof of that. This preliminary is a survival of the fittest!_

Weiss suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, staring at the hulking figure that was standing in her way. A blonde-haired, blue skinned being with an inexplicably massive mouth and lips. The being stared down at Weiss, taking note of her apparel. "A rich human." He frowned. "Well, that's not going to do at all."

"Excuse me?" Weiss narrowed her eyes suspiciously, readying Myrtenaster in case this guy wanted a fight. Which, he probably did.

"Your dress is very nice." He noted. "So nice that I can only assume that you're quite wealthy. And yet you're human...I don't know whether Arlong would like you for being wealthy...or hate you for being rich."

"Just get to the point or get out of my way!" Weiss demanded. "Who are you anyway? You don't look human. You don't even look like a faunus."

"I don't know what the latter even is." The man admitted before introducing himself. "Well, I suppose I can introduce myself. The name is Chew. I'm a fishman, of the superior race. Pleased to crush you, rich girl."

"A...fishman?" Weiss looked at Chew in confusion.

"In my case, I'm a smelt-whiting fishman." Chew continued. "Now then, why don't I crush your dainty little body nice and quick, rich girl. You clearly don't belong here."

"Don't underestimate me." Weiss growled.

"Am I wrong though?" Chew raised an eyebrow. "A little brat like you with a silver spoon in your mouth thinks she can hang with someone like me?"

"Someone like you?"

"Someone who had to struggle to survive due to his own race and his identity." Chew responded. "The fishmen, to put it simply, live a hellish life due to our race. Humans enslave us, demean us, and yet we're physically to you in every way."

"I'm no exception, like my brothers, I went through hell until I crawled my way out of humanity's grip." Chew continued. "And now, I'm going to blast any human that gets in the way of my wish."

Weiss held Myrtenaster out in front of her, ready to fight. Chew smirked. "Seriously? You're still keeping up the macho act, huh? Geez, a brat who's lived in an ivory tower or whole life thinks she can beat me? Or perhaps you think you can win just because you're a human?"

Chew snarled. "I think I'm going to pump you full of holes, little girl."

Chew took a deep breath. "Water Gun!" He yelled, firing a high speed blast of water from his mouth.

Weiss calmly held her hand out in front of her and generated a glyph that acted as a barrier, shielding herself from Chew's attack. Chew watched in slight surprise as the water harmlessly bounced off Weiss' shield.

"Huh?" He said flatly.

"I don't care if you're human, faunus, or whatever the world a fishman is." Weiss said, glaring at Chew. "Don't underestimate my resolve or my strength! I came here with every intent to give this tournament everything I had!"

"That's an interesting little power you've got there." Chew noted. "Hmm...strange, it doesn't seem to be a Devil Fruit. Hmm, I guess that must mean you must be from a completely different world, right?"

Weiss remained silent, refusing to give Chew the time of day. "I guess it really doesn't matter in the end, huh?" Chew mused. "Still, the fact that shield of yours managed to block my Squirt Gun attack was somewhat impressive."

Weiss then created a line of glyphs between herself and Chew. Chew gasped in surprise as Weiss began to move towards him with the speed of a speedskater. "Well now, that is an interesting power." Chew commented.

 _I'll end this quick. I'll drive him into a wall with Myrtenaster, knock him out, and then move onto the next foe. I can't let any of my foes take this fight at their pace, because who knows what kind of power they have._

"Man, Weiss is really picking up speed!" Ruby happily commented.

"Get that fish-face Weiss!" Yang added with a cheer.

"Take this!" Weiss yelled, stabbing forward with Myrtenaster.

Chew then stepped back and grabbed onto Myrtenaster, stopping Weiss in her tracks. Weiss' eyes widened in disbelief. "Wh-what?"

"As if a human could match the strength of a fishman." Chew arrogantly commented. "We have the strength of ten men! Observe!"

Chew through a punch straight into Weiss' stomach, making the former Schnee Heiress gasp in pain as she was sent hurtling into the air. Chew then reached to his side and brandished a big cup of water with a drinking straw. "I brought this with me into the labyrinth. No rules against it." Chew began drinking out of the big cup.

Chew's cheeks puffed out. Weiss recovered from the punch and quickly erected a glyph in front of her as she began to fall. "Now witness Squirt Machine Gun!" Chew yelled, blasting at Weiss with a rapid volley of water bullets.

Weiss' eyes widened as the water began peppering her glyph shield. It held for awhile, but soon Weiss heard the terrifying sounds of cracking. She watched in horror as the glyph suddenly shattered.

And Weiss was now left defenseless, as she was peppered with machine gun-like blows from Chew's Squirt Machine Gun...

 **A.N: Makoto Shishio. Oh man, this guy. This freaking guy. It really takes a special kind of evil to recognize that you're a devil in human skin and still go full speed ahead in your plans. It's like with Masayoshi Shido in Persona 5. Dude knew all about the Cognitive World, knew how distorted his desires are, and still carried on with what he had planned.**

 **Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. We're definitely moving through these prelims quickly. Mainly because there are a lot of side characters who did not get much time in canon. Unlike with FWW, we're focusing mainly on what was seen. Don't expect many power-ups.**


	16. Chapter 16: Rise Above the Rest

**Chapter 16**

 **Rise Above The Rest**

 **One's Determination For Victory**

Weiss Schnee yelled in pain as she fell to the floor, feeling the welts from being peppered with Chew's Squirt Machine Gun attack. Chew sighed, gazing at Weiss with a bored expression on his face. "See," he said, "you may be some rich little human who's been pampered her whole life, trying to play warrior, but on the battlefield, we're equals."

"Well," Chew continued, "that's honestly not very accurate. I struggled for survival from the get-go, my whole life was a battle. The same went for all of us fish-men. We are very much unequal. Because I'm a cut above a rich little snob such as yourself. Add in the fact that you're human, and well...you get the point. There are just way too many differences between us for you to have a chance at beating me."

From the stands, Usopp scowled. "That guy's talking big considering I was the one who beat him. Seriously, you'd think losing to the 'me' from the East Blue would be the ultimate serving of humble pie."

"Don't talk like that, Usopp." Nami frowned. "We all had to start somewhere. The important thing is that we're strong now. Strong enough to reach the end of our journey."

Nami then gazed down at Chew in sympathy. "I still can't forgive the Arlong Pirates for what they did to Cocoyashi village...to Bell-mere and everyone else." She admitted. "But after seeing what Fish-Man Island was like, and what years of hatred did to both of our species...I do at least understand why Chew and the others were driven to this. It doesn't make it okay...it just…"

"It just makes it easier to understand." Usopp finished, making Nami nod in agreement.

"Yeah," Usopp nodded back, "Kuro was one thing. I still can't understand why he felt like he had to do what he did. He had a happy life working as Kaya's butler...and he threw that all away just because he wanted to."

"It's definitely sobering when you learn that the people you've fought in the past had reasons to do the things they did." Robin acknowledged. "It doesn't excuse their actions...but it does remind you that they are people, just like you and me, and not just the monsters we make them out to be just because we hate them for their actions."

"Poetic as always, Robin." Nami smiled before gazing back at the fight. "Anyway, I hope this girl pulls it off. I don't know who this Weiss girl is, but Chew has no right to treat her like she has no business being on the battlefield. Rich or not...she wouldn't be here if she wasn't ready to give her all like everyone else."

Usopp gave Nami a deadpan expression. "You're not just saying that to get on her good side since she's rich, right?" He inquired, just to make sure.

Nami just smiled with the Beri signs in her eyes. "You know me so well, Usopp."

Usopp heaved a tired sigh at the ship navigator's immense greed. "Never change, you greedy, greedy woman." Usopp muttered.

Back at the fight, Weiss Schnee grit her teeth as she forced herself to her feet. She could already feel her Aura trying to take care of her injuries, but it was definitely a process. Made her miss having Jaune to enhance to process with his newfound Semblance. Chew gazed at Weiss with an unreadable expression on his face. "So, you're getting up, huh?" He mused. "Fine then, I'm always okay with knocking prissy little humans like you down several notches."

"You know, I really am sorry that humans have hurt you so much that you've been driven to this." Weiss admitted. "Because honestly, it's pitiful."

Chew narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"My family, for better or worse, has been locked in struggles like yours for years." Weiss revealed. "Close friends, extended family, killed because of my last name. All because that name is associated with so much pain we've caused the Faunus."

"Nowadays, I like to think I'm a bit smarter, a bit wiser, because I had the good fortune of finding a friend who helped put things in perspective for me, just as I did for her. The world...it's never as black and white as we wish."

Weiss glared at Chew. "But to be honest, with everything that's happened now, I really can't help but despise people like you and the White Fang even more!"

"And why is that?" Chew inquired curiously.

"If you've suffered so much...if the world has hurt you the way it has...then why the hell is it that you think that gives you the right to hurt others in the same way?" Weiss screamed. "It's not your species that infuriates me! It's that you just decided to become the very thing you hate."

Chew was taken aback by Weiss' anger. "I can't stand what my family's done to earn the ire of people like you either, especially now." Weiss revealed. "But hurting others in response...it's that lack of empathy that's unforgivable. I'll never understand the logic of people who hurt others just because others hurt them."

"How about you get kicked around by humanity for several years and let's see how you feel?!" Chew yelled.

"I almost became the very thing I couldn't stand either, you have no excuse!" Weiss yelled. "I won't lose to someone who's only fueled by hate! Someone like you will never win this tournament, and you won't get that wish!"

Chew narrowed his eyes and reached for his water like a cowboy reaching for a pistol. "You're going to pay for that." Chew promised. "I'm going to straddle the line between a beatdown and killing you. I'm going to push that no-kill rule to its absolute limit for that."

"Go ahead and try." Weiss told him. "I won't let you land a single hit on me any longer."

"Arrogant little bitch." Chew hissed. "Who do you think you're talking to! A thorny little rose like you can't hope to harm a fish-man!"

"I certainly can't hope to defend against you." Weiss acknowledged with a smile. "So, I guess that means I'm just going to have to drop all defenses and just focus on offense."

"Don't screw with me!" Chew yelled.

"I won't...I'm just going to win." With that, Weiss formed several Glyphs in front of her before speeding towards Chew like a figure skater.

Chew narrowed his eyes. _That little parlor trick again? It didn't work on me before, so what does she hope to accomplish? Bah, no matter, I'll crush her this time!_

Weiss was now right in front of Chew. The fish-man's fist reared back, ready to cave her skull in with one devastating punch. Weiss then propelled herself above Chew's head, much to his surprise. Weiss created a glyph in the air and used it to propel herself past Chew, cutting his shoulder in the process.

Chew grit his teeth. She had cut him in the shoulder connected to the arm holding his water. The little bitch, she planned that. Weiss created another glyph and propelled herself at Chew once more, this time cutting him across his cheek and mouth, making him stumble back in pain, clutching his face.

Weiss continued the process, rocketing herself from glyph to glyph and cutting Chew repeatedly. Chew finally recovered and took a large sip of water. His cheeks puffed out like before. "Squirt Machine Gun!" Chew screamed, firing at Weiss.

Weiss landed on the ground and created another line of glyphs, speeding away from Chew's volley of high-pressure water bullets. Chew's rage had caused him to make the rookie mistake of firing where Weiss was and not where she was going to be.

 _I'll outlast him._ Weiss vowed. _If I can't win with the graceful art of a balanced offense and defense...then I'll simply fight like Ruby and Yang and simply crush my opponent._

Chew's eyes widened when his Squirt Machine Gun began to let up. _Out of ammo? Damn it!_ He cursed inwardly.

Weiss noticed that Chew's Squirt Machine Gun had slowed to a halt. She smirked and used Myrtenaster's revolver-chamber-like guard to switch to a new type of dust. Yelling out a battle cry, Weiss swung her rapier, creating a line of ice that encased Chew's feat.

"You think this will hold me?" Chew demanded.

Weiss smirked. _You got the wrong idea if you think that's meant to hold you._ She noted, creating a giant glyph in front of her.

Chew quickly wrenched his feet free. He gazed at his somewhat numb feat and was then drawn to the sound of something charging towards him. His eyes widened, realizing that he had been distracted. He looked up and was shocked to see a warthog made of ice charging towards him.

"A pig?!" Chew exclaimed in disbelief.

With no time to attack, Chew opted for defense instead. He crossed his arms and braced his body for impact. The Boarbatusk that Weiss had summoned collided with Chew. Chew was forced off balance while the summoned Boarbatusk shattered completely.

Weiss smirked and made her move. As Chew continued to stumble backwards, he saw Weiss moving towards him across a line of Glyphs once more. _I won't let you! This victory is rightfully mine, you stinking bitch!_ Chew furiously thought.

And with that, Chew chugged down the last of his water. "Squirt Cannon!" Chew yelled, firing a massive blast of water in one single shot.

The big ball of water flew towards Weiss only for the former Schnee Heiress to once again propel herself above Chew. Chew looked right up at Weiss in disbelief. "My strongest attack...dodged so easily? No way is a human faster than me! No way is a human stronger than me!"

Weiss just ignored Chew's mental breakdown. Another glyph appeared by her side. A giant arm with a massive broadsword appeared out of it.

"A partial summon this time?" Lie Ren was surprised. "But Weiss can do full summons now. Why would she limit herself like that."

"Her position in midair limits her options, but the effect is still the same as long as you use your power properly." Qrow Branwen pointed out before smirking. "Winter's got more raw power...but Weiss might actually be more clever than her sister."

"You've lost!" Weiss yelled, swinging Myrtenaster downwards.

Mirroring her movements, the summoned arm swung its broadsword downwards, slamming it straight into Chew's head. Chew's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets as he was smashed into the floor with enough force to actually create a small crater around him.

Weiss landed gracefully on the ground and found herself curtsying out of habit. She gazed at Chew in pity. "I...really do hope there comes a day where we can find power in forgiveness rather than hatred." She admitted.

 _I'll win this tournament...and I'll make it right. All of it._ Weiss vowed. _I'll wish for a utopia. My family...will be a proper family again. We'll all be back at Beacon, even Pyrrha. And Salem...will just be nothing but a bad dream. And then...the world can find strength in forgiveness rather than simply hating everyone._

"Chew is unable to continue, and as such is now eliminated from the tournament!" Weiss was cut from her thoughts at Haika's announcement.

"What a match!" Kaji cheered. "Weiss Schnee pulls it off with a freaking blitzkrieg of Schnee Family glyphs!"

"Chew's firepower and fish-man strength made him a force to be reckoned with, but the world Weiss comes from is sadly Darwinistic." Daisuke explained. "You have to be strong to survive, or have the fortune to have someone who is strong enough to protect you. Weiss, as a Huntress, is no exception."

"However, Weiss also had the advantage of simply having a vaster arsenal of weaponry. Her glyphs, her summoning, her Myrtenaster's cutting power, and the Dust stored up in that chamber. Chew simply had no way to answer for all of those moves." Daisuke continued. "And so in the end, Chew becomes yet another dropout."

"Combine that with the defeats of Silver Eagles Magic Knight Curtis Warren amd Coral Peacocks Magic Knight Dmitri Brint, only a hundred contestants are left."

"Uh, uh, uh, Dai, those numbers are dropping past a hundred. I just got word." Kaji grinned. "Dio Brando is going on a rampage. See folks, Dio had been the one to bring down both Curtis and Dmitri. But he's not done yet."

Indeed, the immortal Dio had walked right into a massive battle royale between multiple contestants in Block A and almost immediately crushed two Magic Knights. Goumon of the black magic cult known as Avatar. Gwen Darcy, a student of Shade Academy and a member of NDGO. Izumo Kamizuki, a Chunin of the Hidden Leaf Village. Kageyama, a dark wizard of the mage guild, Eisenwald. Nirengeki Shoda, of UA Academy's Class 1-B. Nolan Porfirio, another student of Shade Academy and member of Team BRNZ. Risely Law, a wizard from Mermaid Heel. And Russel Thrush, a former student of Beacon Academy and ex-member of Team CRDL.

All eight fighters gazed at the downed forms of Curtis and Dmitri in disbelief. "What the hell?" Russel muttered. "This guy...he's a freaking beast!"

Dio smirked. "You all seem to be having fun. Would you permit me to join?" He inquired tauntingly.

The fighters remained silent, gazing at Dio with visible fear in their eyes. "Bah, don't bother answering that question. I, Dio, need no one's permission to do what I desire." Dio told them. "I go where I desire, take what I desire, and there's only one bloodline with the strength to stand in my way."

"And I can tell that none of you have that accursed bloodline." Dio told them.

"I don't know who this guy is...and frankly, he does scare me." Kageyama muttered, sensing that there was something seriously off with Dio. "But I won't let anything intimidate me! Nothing will stand in the way of my wish to start anew as a member of a legal guild! One that treats their members like family! Everyone, truce so that we can take this guy down!"

"Shadow Orochi!" Kageyama used his Shadow Magic to create several snakes made of shadow.

"TEA!" Goumon screamed, creating multiple instruments of torture before flinging them towards Dio.

Gwen grit her teeth, removed several throwing knives from her combat skirt and tossed them at Dio. Izumo was visibly sweating, but knew he could not back down either. "I'll restrain him!" He promised. "Water Style: Syrup Trap!"

Dio laughed as all these attacks came towards him. "What a bunch of pitiful techniques!" He proclaimed. "Still, how valorous of you all, to put aside your greed to fight a superior opponent. Humans like you do indeed know that there are strength in numbers!"

"But numbers mean nothing in the face of true power!" Dio declared. "A shame you won't be able to see it!"

The attacks were now inches away. "Now, come forth!" Dio screamed. "The World!"

All eight contestants suddenly froze in place. Elsewhere, Jotaro Kujo frowned, immediately sensing that there was something very wrong with his surroundings, and damn did it feel familiar to him.

"I guess Dio's already having his fun." He growled. "I need to track him down and end him. If he gets into the elimination rounds...I don't know if anyone except me is capable of stopping him. I'd rather not have anyone suffer because of him."

Dio laughed and charged the frozen contestants. He easily weaved his way past all their attacks, frozen in time, in midair. His Stand, The World, appeared in front of him. "One second!" He yelled as The World neared Izumo.

"Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda!" The World smashed Izumo with a flurry of punches.

"Two seconds!" Dio continued, moving past Izumo and onto Gwen without a care in the world. The man never was a true gentleman, the way he treated Erina back then proved that. And what he was going to do to Gwen would only reinforce that.

"Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda!" The World hit Gwen with a flurry of punches just like with Izumo.

"Three seconds!" Dio now moved onto Kageyama.

"Muda Muda Muda!" Kageyama was defenseless, just like the others.

"Four seconds!" Goumon was next.

"Muda!" Goumon looked like the weakest of the bunch physically. One punch from The World would be all that was needed to break him.

"Five seconds!" And with that, the attackers were dealt with. Dio now moved onto the ones who had no time to get off their own attacks. Shoda was first.

"Muda Muda!" Two blows. And once time resumed, Shoda would be sent hurtling like all the rest.

"Six seconds!" The World moved onto the defenseless Russel.

"Muda!" Much like with Goumon, Dio could tell Russel was physically one of the weaker ones. And much like with Goumon, one blow from The World was all that was needed.

"Seven seconds!" Nolan had tried to whip out his electrically charged staff, but was sadly caught in chronostasis like all the others.

"Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda!" And just like all the others, Nolan was doomed to fall without any knowledge as to just what power Dio had used to bring him to his knees.

"Eight seconds, it's over!" Dio declared as he neared his final target: Risely.

"Muda Muda Muda!" And with that, all eight contestants were struck down by Dio's relentless assault. And once time resumed, their time in the tournament would come to a halt.

Dio came to a halt behind them all. The World floated right next to him. "Nine seconds," Dio gave a smirk that was a mixture of arrogance and bloodlust, "and with that, time has resumed."

Indeed, time resumed, and as soon as it did, all the accumulated damage from The World's assault, hit all eight contestants like a ton of bricks. They were all sent flying by The World's raw power. All eight contestants were unconscious before they hit the floor.

Dio bent backwards and shrieked to the heavens. "WRYYYYYY!" He screamed.

Izuku Midoriya gaped at Dio's display of strength in disbelief. What had him shocked in particular was that ability he had just used. "What...what was that? Why did they all just stand there? Why did their attacks freeze in midair?"

Jonathan Joestar was gaping as well. "Dio...what has happened to you?" He wondered. "What have you become? Has your quest for power led to this?"

"Was that...some sort of speed-based power like mine?" Ruby Rose wondered.

Qrow shook his head. "No, worse, the bastard manipulated time." He immediately picked up on the secret of Dio's Stand.

Thankfully, once you observe The World's power from an outsider's perspective, it is easy to figure it out. And because of a special 'feature' the Colosseum has, The World's power has no effect on anyone outside of the battlefield.

In other words, both the audience and the contestants had just bore witness to just what made Dio Brando a heavy favorite to win the entire Urban Tier.

Dio straightened his body out and smiled. "I...will win this game!" He vowed.

 **AN: Real talk for a sec, why is it that Weiss rarely uses her glyphs anymore? All she does is summon. It's like RT deliberately nerfed her.**

 **And Dio, trying to get that "most kills" achievement. Dude's definitely a heavy hitter for the Urban Tier. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Something different next time.**


	17. Chapter 17: Two Reunions

**Chapter 17**

 **Two Reunions**

 **Our Hearts Are What Bind Us**

As the prelim matches of Urban Tier Block A continue, let's take this moment to examine just what is happening outside of the battlefield. Particularly with one girl who has lived over a hundred lives: all of which have led to the same man, the love of her life. The two of them were bound by fate. A fate of love and tragedy.

In this particular life, Elizabeth Liones, third princess of the Kingdom of Liones, was undoubtedly in the most difficult of them all, but also the most unexpected of lifetimes. She never expected to end up in a tournament that spanned several universes. She did not even expect there to be multiple universes. It certainly threw a wrench in her plan to save the man she loved from himself in the upcoming Holy War.

She knew for a fact that Meliodas was here at the tournament somewhere. At the same time though, she knew he was not here. As in, he was not himself. That damn Demon King. Possessing his own son like that, turning him against his friends and her. God, how did things ever get to this point? They were going to break the curse this time. They were going to make everything better, and then they could be together, grow old together, and pass away in peace together.

Elizabeth felt something wet against her cheeks. "Oh," she muttered to herself, "I...guess I still haven't gotten used to you being the one who's gone this time."

Elizabeth could not help but bitterly laugh to herself. "You've had to witness me die how many times now?" She mused to herself. "You've had to endure so much. Your sanity has been pushed to its very limit, and you've remained strong to try and keep the promise between us."

"But I...I lose you once, and I completely fall to pieces. Then again, between the two of us, you were always the one with the greater sense of resolve in this cruel, violent world of ours, and you always hated battle."

"Meliodas," Elizabeth said softly to herself, "I'm going to fix this. I'm going to fix this, and I'm going to save you. I'm going to bring you back to the Seven Deadly Sins, to me."

"Are you now, you always were the optimist...Elizabeth." Elizabeth's eyes widened at the familiarity of that voice.

Elizabeth spun around to see the love of her life walking towards her, flanked by two familiar faces: Meliodas' brothers, Estarossa and Zeldris, two members of the Demon King's elite warriors, the Ten Commandments.

"Meliodas?" Elizabeth gasped. "You...you are here."

"Of course I am, foolish woman." Meliodas scoffed. "A true warrior does not pass up a competition like this. I entered, and I intend to win."

Estarossa lazily yawned. "Of course, we all had no choice because of that damn mark the Overseer got us with. Even Meliodas didn't want to test this guy, whoever he is." He noted, making Meliodas glare sharply at him, silencing him almost immediately.

Zeldris scowled hatefully at Elizabeth. "And of course, you just have to be here." He noted. "Let me guess, those other irritating Sins are here too?"

Elizabeth nodded. Estarossa's eyes widened slightly. "Er...that includes Escanor, right?" Estarossa definitely was not happy about the thought of fighting that monster again. Getting burnt alive by a miniature sun is a very traumatic experience. Weirdly enough, it was something all three brothers had now experienced.

"One of us plans to win this." Elizabeth promised. "And I promise you this, Meliodas. Once we win, we're going to use the wish to bring you back to your old self."

Meliodas just smirked. "Foolish woman," he said, "looking for an easy fix, huh? What, did you find out you have no chance at your endeavors otherwise?"

Elizabeth winced at Meliodas' harsh tone. Whatever this was...it was not Meliodas. The Meliodas she knew would never speak to her like that. "You and I both know that in order to complete this endeavor, the curse has to be broken...of course, no matter how hard you try, it won't change my new path. I will become the Demon King, Elizabeth."

"This isn't you, Meliodas!" Elizabeth yelled. "And I'm going to use this tournament's wish to remind you of that!"

"Damn holy witch!" Zeldris yelled, stepping in front of Melidoas. "Keep your filthy claws off my brother! You've hurt him far too much these past 3,000 years!"

"Zeldris," Meliodas placed a hand on Zeldris' shoulder, silencing him. The former leader of the Seven Deadly Sins shook his head at his little brother. "I don't need you to speak up on my behalf, Zeldris. Might I remind you who the older brother is here?"

Zeldris tensed at Meliodas' statement before falling silent. Meliodas then turned his attention back to Elizabeth. "I must admit, Elizabeth," Meliodas said to her, "I'm beginning to find your persistence extremely irritating. You need to get it through your thick skull. I am not going back to the way I once was. Becoming the Demon King...is the only way to set this curse right."

"No, not at the cost of who you are!" Elizabeth yelled. "I will not let you do that to yourself! I know you're still in there somewhere, Meliodas. Somewhere deep inside, you know that this is only going to hurt the both of us!"

"I know deep down, you know how much it pains me to see the man I love like this!"

"The man you love is gone, Elizabeth. The only reason I still wish to break the curse is simply because I can't seem to shake a 3,000 year-old attachment." Meliodas told her.

"He is not gone!" Elizabeth yelled. "I don't know what you are, but you are not Meliodas! Meliodas is kind and driven. You may think that who you truly are is what you started as, but Meliodas' true self was always kind and gentle! He just needed to see it himself. And he needs to see it again."

Meliodas scowled, clearly starting to lose his patience. "Silence!" He yelled, blasting Elizabeth with a wave of killing intent. "I am the man who will become the Demon King, there is nothing kind or gentle about me!"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, you're wrong, Meliodas." Elizabeth told him. "This isn't you, and if winning this tournament is what it takes to remind you of who you truly are and where you belong, so be it. I promise you, we won't show you any mercy if it means getting you back. That's not just a promise from me, but that's a promise from the Seven Deadly Sins as well."

"But consider this my promise," Elizabeth continued, "I love you, and I always will. And that's exactly why I'm going to get you back."

Meliodas shook his head. "You're nothing but an annoying fool." He told her. "You're declaring your love for someone who will _never_ return it. You're wasting your time, Elizabeth, you all are."

"Doesn't sound like a waste to me." There was a collective gasp at the new entry into this intense conversation.

Meliodas narrowed his eyes and turned his attention to the new speaker. It was just a kid with greasy black hair, and he was glaring deep into Meliodas' soul. "She's trying to talk some sense into the man she loves. A guy who frankly doesn't deserve her, if this is the way you act when she pours her heart out like this." Yusuke Urameshi pointed it out.

"This doesn't concern you, human." Meliodas growled.

"Oh I couldn't disagree more, you damn midget." Yusuke shot back. "Call me old fashioned, but to be honest, I can't stand it when I see a man treat his woman like that. If I even _thought_ of treating Keiko like that, I'd have to laugh in my own face before finding a way to kick my own ass."

Estarossa frowned while Zeldris immediately stepped up to Yusuke. "Who do you think you are talking to?" He growled.

Yusuke took one look at Zeldris and walked right past him. "This conversation is between me and blondie, Other Midget." Yusuke told him.

Yusuke and Meliodas both glared at each other. Meliodas scoffed. "She's not my woman. She's just a nuisance." Meliodas told him.

"She certainly seems to think you're a couple." Yusuke noted. "And considering that she's the one who's coming across as reasonable and not a total tool, I'm inclined to take her side in this whole thing."

"Who do you think you are?" Meliodas demanded. "Do you always involve yourself in situations that don't concern you? This is none of your business."

"Yeah, no." Yusuke responded. "Like I told you, seeing a guy treat his girl like that...well, let's just say dating has put a lot in perspective for me. So when I saw you trying to break her down like that, when all she's trying to do is help you, it _became_ my business."

Meliodas and Yusuke just glared each other down for awhile before Meliodas noticed something. "Interesting," he muttered, "something about you isn't...entirely human. Just who are you, exactly?"

Yusuke smirked. "Yusuke Urameshi, Spirit Detective, nice to meet you, Shorty."

Meliodas remained silent before deciding to introduce himself. "I am Meliodas, the man who will become the Demon King."

Meliodas calmly walked past Yusuke. "We can't fight here...but I can sense your power level. There is no doubt in my mind that we belong in the same tier. We will one day face off against each other. We'll settle things there."

Yusuke grinned. "Looking forward to it, Meliodas. If your woman can't knock any sense into you, then I guess it's up to me to do it instead."

Meliodas did not respond to that. "Zeldris, Estarossa, we're heading back." Meliodas he instead addressed his two brothers.

Zeldris glared hatefully at Yusuke while Estarossa gazed at him with a bit more interest. Then, the three high-ranking demons left the area, leaving Yusuke and Elizabeth alone. Elizabeth gazed at Yusuke. "You...didn't have to do that."

Yusuke looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Yeah, but I wanted to." He admitted. "When I saw you getting upset at the way he was acting, I kinda saw Keiko in ya. When I saw that, I just had to step in."

Elizabeth could not help but smile at the thuggish-looking boy's heart of gold. "Thank you, Sir Yusuke." She said gratefully.

Yusuke rubbed his head sheepishly. "Sheesh, you come from a land of knights or something?" He got it in one. "No need with the 'sir' stuff. Trust me, if you knew me as well as Keiko and the others do, you wouldn't want to knight me at all...er…"

"Elizabeth," Elizabeth introduced herself, "thank you regardless, Yusuke."

"No problem," Yusuke said to her before making her an offer, "you need an escort back to your area? Keeping people safe is kinda my specialty."

Elizabeth laughed at Yusuke's sincerity. "I appreciate the thought, but I can handle myself." She promised. "Besides, I'd hate for your Keiko to find us together and then get the wrong idea."

Yusuke paled at that. "Oh man," he muttered, "she would totally have my ass if she assumed the worst like that."

Elizabeth laughed at that as well. This guy, his sincerity and goofiness was actually making her feel better, and she barely knew him. Perhaps being forced into this tournament was not a bad thing. After all, she made a new friend today.

"Then, I will see you around, Yusuke." Elizabeth told him before turning around and walking away.

Yusuke's voice stopped her. "I meant what I said," he told her, "I'll gladly knock some sense into Meliodas for you."

"You barely know me," Elizabeth responded after a moment of silence, "you barely know either of us, or what we went through. I can't ask you to involve yourself in our problems when you barely know us."

"The hell kind of nonsense is that?"

Elizabeth looked at Yusuke in surprise. "Whether I know you well or not, I can help you anyway." Yusuke told her. "I don't need much of a reason to help someone I know is in trouble."

Elizabeth remained silent at Yusuke's words. After a moment, she spoke up. "Meliodas is strong, Yusuke, very strong." She told him. "And now he hates you. And if he finds out you're trying to get him back to normal like I am...I don't know what he'll do to you."

"Trust me, much worse has happened." Yusuke promised with a grin before adding seriously, "you can try to scare me off as much as you wish, but nothing's going to change. I'm going to help save him, Elizabeth. I've already made up my mind."

At that moment, Elizabeth realized that there was nothing that was going to change Yusuke's mind. She sighed and smiled. "Thank you, I still don't fully know who you are and what you're story is, but thank you."

Yusuke smirked. "Maybe after I bring Meliodas back to his senses we can double date. You and Meliodas, Keiko and me. Sound good?"

Elizabeth nodded. "It's a promise." She said as the two parted ways.

Elizabeth was soon back in her spectators box with the rest of the Seven Deadly Sins. Diane, who was at a smaller size thanks to Merlin's magic, noticed Elizabeth's expression. "What's up?" She asked. "That's the happiest I've seen you since we got here."

Elizabeth laughed. "Well, apparently I've got a double date ahead of me." She noted, much to the utter confusion of the rest of the Sins.

"I'm confused...doesn't Elizabeth's heart belong to the captain?" Gowther wondered out loud.

Merlin chuckled, immediately realizing what was going on. "It appears Sis-Sis has reason to be confident that we'll be getting our wayward captain back in this tournament." She noted.

"Right on the money, Merlin." Elizabeth nodded. "One thing led to another, and a contestant who seems to be in the same tier as Meliodas offered to...beat him to his senses, as I'm sure he would so eloquently put it."

"Does this guy know who he's talking about?" Ban frowned. "I'm not sure I like the idea of some random dude coming in and trying to fight the captain of all people."

"Ban, don't rain on Elizabeth's parade like that." King chided.

"Indeed, the important thing is that whatever happened has put a smile on Elizabeth's face." Escanor noted, in his nighttime form thanks to the glasses Merlin had given him. "She has been so somber since this tournament began. Seeing her genuinely happy like this should be a joyous occasion."

"Well I want details!" Diane yelled. "Come on, Elizabeth, don't just leave us in the dark like this! Who's this guy that you think can beat Meliodas back to his senses?"

Elizabeth chuckled. "Well," she began, "you wouldn't really believe it by looking at him at first. He looks like a scrawnier, younger version of Ban."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ban frowned.

"However, much like Ban, he has a heart of gold, and a supreme amount of confidence." Elizabeth continued. "A confidence that simply makes you believe in him. And get this, apparently he's something called a Spirit Detective."

"He detects spirits?" Ban frowned.

"No you idiot, he investigates spirits." King sighed, making Ban glare sharply at him.

Elizabeth laughed at the playful, giddy mood among the Sins. Even if none of them wanted to say it, the fact that there was someone out there willing to help them get the captain back, just because, put a smile on their faces.

Mainly because it reminded them of Meliodas. Helping people just because.

And just like that, Yusuke Urameshi had made seven new friends. He had certainly come a long way from the thuggish punk that his teachers thought would never amount to anything (and ruthlessly mocked at his own funeral of all things).

Back at the preliminaries, things were beginning to heat up as more contestants began to fall. Cosmina, of the Empire's secret police: Wild Hunt, laughed madly before activating her Teigu: Great Tremor: Heavy Pressure.

Heavy Pressure was a powerful microphone capable of amplifying the user's voice into ultrasonic waves capable of crushing bones, as Ibiki Morino, Rob Vitesse of the Silver Eagles, 'Big Knife' Sarkies and Sage Ayana of Team SSSN quickly discovered before falling in battle.

It has now been nearly two hours since the preliminaries had begun. Of the 120 contestants that started, only 88 remain. Meaning there were 24 who had to drop out now before Block A's prelim could be completed.

Elsewhere, Jaune Arc yelled in pain before being slammed to the ground. "Fuhha!" Jaune heard his opponent laugh in glee. "It's embarrassing how weak you are, my dear failure of a knight!"

Jaune forced himself to his feet, glaring at his foe. Damn, things had taken a turn for the worst. Jaune knew that in spite of his massive improvements, he was still undoubtedly an underdog in this tournament. So, his strategy was simply survival. To last as long as he could and hit his opponent with guerilla attacks.

What he did not expect was for this guy to erect a barrier when he tried to ambush him that completely deflected his sword. Since then, Jaune has been unable to fight back while his foe has simply rammed into him repeatedly.

"Fuhha!" Sekke Bronzazza, Magic Knight of the Green Praying Mantis squad, laughed that irritating laugh of his. "So you want to try to go for another round, huh? Fine by me, I'm always more than happy to show off to an adoring crowd."

Sekke was even happier on the inside. _This could not have gone any better._ He noted. _I actually managed to track down the weakest link of the bunch this time! Looks like waiting for my chance to show off to this crowd has finally paid off!_

"Looks like we've got a pretty one-sided match between Jaune Arc and Sekke Bronzazza." Kaji noted.

"Indeed, Jaune just can't seem to cut through Sekke's spell: Sekke's Magnum Cannonball...I do wish I was joking when I said that name, but yes, that is the real name of his spell." Daisuke heaved a sigh.

"Whoa!" Asta shouted from the stands. "Fuhha's gotten way stronger since the last time I saw him!"

Magna Swing looked at Asta in disbelief. _Dude, he said Sekke's actual name and you're still calling him that?_

Yami Sukehiro frowned. "It's not that he's gotten stronger. After the beating I gave him when he ended up in front of me while I was taking a dump, I could tell he wasn't anything special. It's more like...that kid he's fighting just isn't that strong either. He can take a hit, but he can't hit back. Not good. He needs to push past his limits if he wants a chance."

"It's definitely a rather boring match." Vanessa Enoteca sighed, gazing at Jaune in sympathy. "Poor kid, he's in way over his head if he's struggling with that Sekke guy."

Meanwhile, Ruby Rose, Lie Ren and Yang Xiao Long were cheering for Jaune. Ren was more subdued, as he was immensely worried for his friend's wellbeing. "Jaune…" he muttered.

"You can do it Jaune!" Ruby cheered.

"Punch right through that damn thing!" Yang added.

Qrow Branwen frowned. "That barrier's tough." He muttered to himself. "I don't know if the kid can do it."

 _But you're smart, Jaune._ Qrow added inwardly. _I do know that you've got a plan to win this. And I know you want to show the world how strong you've become. Come on, kid, give it your all and win!_

Jaune bravely gripped Crocea Mors as he stared down Sekke. "I'm not giving up." He vowed. "I...swore to myself that I would prove that I can do it! I won't embarrass myself."

"Too late." Sekke derided Jaune.

Jaune rushed Crocea Mors, transforming it into its longsword form and slamming it into Sekke's Magnum Cannonball. Crocea Mors bounced right off, making Jaune stumble backwards from losing his balance. "Seriously though, what exactly are you trying to accomplish here?" Sekke asked. "I mean, you can't seriously think you're going to win this, right?"

"I don't...but I've gotta try, and I've at least gotta get as far as I can." Jaune admitted.

"Oh, you're going to try?" Sekke mocked.

"Yeah," Jaune nodded, "there's...something I want if I do manage to win, somehow. Someone...I want back in my life...in everyone's life."

Ruby's face fell, hearing that. She knew immediately who Jaune was talking about. "She...was taken far too early. It just...wasn't fair." Jaune explained. "I've...I've gotta make it right!"

Sekke frowned, unable to laugh upon hearing Jaune's wish. He then shook his head, unable to restrain himself from mocking Jaune's wish. "You have possible access to a wish that can grant you absolutely anything and you're going to waste it on bringing back the dead?"

"No money, no power? I'm going to wish for wealth, and then retire from being a whipping boy for the Green Praying Mantis." Sekke vowed. "Because I'm smart, pal. Because I know that it's better to use a wish like that on me, because I'm the one who won."

Jaune glared at Sekke for that statement. "Now then, I'm going to roll over you and move on." Sekke told him.

 _Yeah right,_ Sekke thought to himself, _once I take this guy out, I'm going to lay low until Block A's prelims are done. I got lucky with the weak link here but who knows how long that luck's going to last!_

Jaune bravely stood his ground. "Someone like you could never understand." He growled. "I'm going to make it right again. I'm going to bring back Pyrrha!"

Sekke chuckled and began rolling towards Jaune in his Magnum Cannonball. Suddenly, a sauce-like object shot past Jaune, making his eyes widen in surprise. The saucer smashed right through Sekke's Magnum Cannonball thanks to the force from its momentum. The impact slowed it down, but it still smacked into Sekke's forehead and it hurt. The conceited Magic Knight's eyes bulged out of his sockets as he stumbled backwards.

The saucer then seemed to retract, Jaune's eyes widened further in disbelief as he got a good look at the saucer. It was actually a shield, a very familiar looking shield. _Is that…_

"You have no idea how much it means to me, that you never forgot about me...that I remained in your heart even after all the time that's past." A familiar voice said to him.

Jaune had to force himself to look over his shoulder. _Don't, don't give me hope._ Jaune thought to himself before steeling up his nerves to look.

Jaune looked over his shoulder and his eyes widened. It could not be…

Pyrrha Nikos gave Jaune a happy smile. "But Jaune," she continued, "perhaps find a new goal...because I think I should be the one to use a wish like that."

From the stands, Ruby, Yang and Ren both gaped in disbelief as tears of joy welled up in their eyes. Jaune was in a similar state. It was taking all his self-restraint not to simply burst into tears.

"Pyrrha…" he muttered.

Pyrrha just smiled. "You've gotten stronger too, Jaune." She noted before gazing at Sekke, frowning at the amount of times he had hurt Jaune. "But...why don't you let me take it from here?"

 **A.N: Try to keep in mind everyone, this is set before the new Holy War. So Meliodas is still a jackass and Estarossa is still Estarossa if you know what I mean. Oh yeah, and Pyrrha's back. I guess that's pretty cool too.**


	18. Chapter 18: A Triumphant Return!

**Chapter 18**

 **A Triumphant Return!**

 **Pouncing From the Shadows**

It still seemed like a dream. Maybe it was and Jaune was about to wake up and be on his way to the Argus Limited. Still...a part of him had hope for the first time in forever. So, he had to make sure. "Is it really you, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked softly. "I...I just…"

"You have to make sure, I know." Pyrrha nodded in understanding before giving Jaune that smile of hers. "It is me. I guess the Lord Overseer saw fit to bring me back for this tournament. No surprise I guess, being the undefeated champion of Mistral does have its side effects."

"Pyrrha...you're back…" Jaune wept joyfully. "You're really back...gods, I saw you go up there to fight...and you never came back...and…"

Pyrrha shook her head. "Jaune," she said, "we have all the time we want to talk about that night...and everything that's happened afterward."

Pyrrha then narrowed her eyes at the dizzy Sekke. "But right now, I think I have a lesson to teach this man...about what happens when you mess with the one I care for the most."

Sekke finally recovered from his dizzy spell. "What...what was that?" He muttered before gazing at Pyrrha in shock. "Who the hell are you?"

"Someone you've angered." Pyrrha responded. "How dare you torment Jaune like that...my Jaune. I'm going to make you pay."

Sekke gazed at Pyrrha, immediately taking note of the girl's incredible beauty. He then looked at Jaune and noted how less impressive he looked by comparison. His mind practically short-circuited, unable to comprehend the idea of Pyrrha being into Jaune, of all people. _For real!_ He thought in disbelief. _A guy this unimpressive can get a beauty like her and not me?! What's wrong with me?!_

How much time have you got, Sekke?

Pyrrha cracked her neck. "That shield toss to the head was just the opening." She continued. "You ready for what comes next?"

Sekke took one look at Pyrrha, noted how she was clearly leagues ahead of him, and spun around. "Like hell I'm going to fight you!" Sekke screamed as his grimoire floated next to him. "Bronze Creation Magic: Sekke's Shooting Star!"

Sekke created a magic motorbike made of bronze that he immediately leapt aboard. "Strategic Sekke Retreat!" Sekke yelled as though he were calling out an actual attack name before frantically riding away from Pyrrha. "Run away! Run away! Run away!"

Pyrrha frowned. She normally was not the type to go after an enemy retreating like a scared rabbit. However, two things made this the exception to the rule. One: if she did not eliminate as many people as possible, the prelims would never end and Jaune had more chances of being eliminated. She did not want that, at all. She wanted to see Jaune in the elimination rounds.

Two: this son of a bitch hurt her man. There was no way she was just going to let him go. No, Sekke Bronzazza was going down and he was going to go down hard.

Pyrrha tossed her shield up in the air and caught it a few times before flexing her arm and shoulder. "You're not running from me." She muttered before tossing the shield at Sekke once more like a frisbee.

Sekke yelped in fear as he saw the shield whiz past him. That fear turned to jubilation as he looked over his shoulder to laugh at Pyrrha for missing him. "You idiot!" He yelled. "Where the hell are you aiming, huh?"

Big mistake, on many accounts. You don't taunt the person you don't even have the guts to face off against. And you certainly don't turn your eyes from the road when you're riding anything. Pyrrha held her hand up. A black aura shone around it. It was her polarity Semblance acting up. That same black aura appeared around the shield, unbeknownst to Sekke.

Pyrrha pulled her hand back. The shield suddenly flung itself backwards. Right into Sekke's ribs, knocking him off his Shooting Star. "Ack!" Sekke yelled in pain.

Pyrrha pointed her javelin, Milo, at the ground. Using the rifle attachments, Pyrrha launched herself from the ground toward Sekke. Her shield, Akouo detached itself from Sekke and returned to her. Soon, Sekke and Pyrrha were a few feet away from meeting in midair.

Jaune watched in amazement as Pyrrha raised Akouo above her head, realizing what was about to happen. Sekke was about to have an even worse time. Hopefully he lost consciousness quickly.

Pyrrha yelled before driving the shield straight into Sekke's chest, driving them both to the ground, pinning Sekke beneath her. Sekke yelled briefly before his body splayed out, motionless. "Now apologize to Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled before noticing that Sekke was actually unconscious.

At that moment, she snapped out of her angry state and realized that what she did was improper on so many levels, especially for a girl with her reputation. "Gyah!" She yelled. "I'm sorry! I know this is a tournament! I know I shouldn't get upset about Jaune fighting with someone, I just…"

As Pyrrha rambled out apologies to an unconscious man, Jaune just stared at the girl with a deadpan expression of disbelief before smiling. "It really is her." He muttered. "She hasn't changed a bit."

Sekke's body than vanished. Pyrrha could only freak out even more, now worried that she might have accidentally killed the Magic Knight. Then, they heard Haika's voice. "Sekke Bronzazza is unable to continue and has been eliminated."

From the stands, Asta frowned. "Aww man, poor Fuhha."

"What do you mean 'poor Fuhha'?" Noelle Silva asked in disbelief, angry at how Sekke had treated Jaune.

Speaking of Jaune, the strategist and amateur knight carefully walked over to Pyrrha. "Pyrrha...I still can't believe it." He admitted. "You're...you're really back."

Jaune was suddenly yanked over by his armor thanks to Pyrrha's Semblance. Before Jaune could comprehend it, Pyrrha had her arms wrapped around him, weeping with joy. "I missed you so much." She admitted. "I never regretted what I did...but gods, did I miss you."

Jaune could not help but laugh at how demure Pyrrha was before tearfully wrapping his arms around her as well. "I missed you too." He told her.

Ruby smiled at the reunion from her seat before wiping a tear from her eye. She felt her regrets from that awful night melt away.

Then, just as soon as it began, the reunion was cut short as Jaune and Pyrrha's eyes both widened. Both clutched their stomachs in pain as they collapsed to their knees. "What...what's this?" Pyrrha demanded.

"Stomach...my stomach…" Jaune muttered in pain.

"Hehehe, what's the matter, got a little bit of a tummy ache?" A playfully malicious voice addressed both Jaune and Pyrrha.

Jaune and Pyrrha turned to see a pink haired girl in a black dress strolling up to them with a big smile on her face. "I...didn't see her coming." Pyrrha muttered.

"Hi there," the girl said before introducing herself, "I'm Mary, a dark wizard for the Cult, Avatar. At least I was, until I found out Old Man Arlock planned on sacrificing us to that big old war god. Honestly, now I'm just a regular dark wizard who's looking to cause as much chaos and destruction as possible."

"What have you done to us?" Pyrrha demanded.

"What, you don't like it?" Mary pouted. "It's just my Black Magic: Virus. I can give anyone any kind of virus I wish. Right now, you're experiencing a stomach virus. Unfortunately, this pain you're both experiencing is the full extent of how much I can do to you. I could give you a virus in the brain, but that would kill you, and as I'm sure you know by now, that's a big no-no."

"But, I can make the virus so much worse." Mary admitted with a sadistic twinkle in her eyes. "I can make the pain in your stomachs so unbearable, just moving is a chore. Who knows, maybe I could even make you pass out from all that pain."

Pyrrha tried to lift her hand to try and activate her polarity Semblance, only for a sudden sharp pain to hit her. _Gods...I can't...I can't._ She realized. _The virus...whatever she's doing to me. It's too much…_

Mary noticed Pyrrha's movements and laughed. "See what I mean. This is why all those people like to say that getting sick sucks. Because it does. And if you get really sick, you can't do anything because your body just hates you so much for trying to do anything."

Mary laughed. "Too bad, Red, you could've been a contender at least. But, you got distracted by your totally lame boyfriend. Now, I'm taking you out of the competition." She grinned. "I'm the worst kind of opponent you can fight, because no matter how strong someone is, they can't beat the viruses that ravage their body from the inside out. Once I make it to the elimination rounds, I'm going to tear through the competition! They won't know what hit 'em!"

Jaune and Pyrrha both groaned in pain as the virus continued to ravage their stomachs. "But first, you two." Mary giggled. "You two are totes finished-"

"Smash!" Mary was suddenly cut off. Her eyes bulged out of her sockets as a hammer suddenly slammed into the back of her head.

Mary had no time to yell in pain as she was driven into the ground by the hammer. Jaune and Pyrrha both gasped at the sight of their savior. Nora Valkyrie grinned down at the beaten Mary. "You're not very smart, huh?" She taunted. "You should've been watching your back."

"Nora, you saved us!" Jaune exclaimed.

Nora then seemed to notice Jaune for the first time. "Hey, so I did!" Nora exclaimed. Yeah, she did indeed just notice Jaune for the first time. Nora did not even know that Mary had been tormenting them. She just saw someone with their back turned and took the opportunity to smash them with her Magnhild.

Nora then noticed the girl next to Jaune and her eyes widened. Pyrrha smiled as she felt the virus fade from her systems. "Hey, Nora." She said softly.

"Imposter!" Nora yelled out, making Jaune and Pyrrha blink in surprise.

"Eh?" The two said in unison at Nora's exclamation.

"Do not try and fool me! Pyrrha is gone!" Nora yelled. "I will not be fooled by some imposter who plays on people's emotions!"

"Nora, no, it is Pyrrha!" Jaune promised. "She saved me earlier from some guy who could put up a barrier."

"Okay, if you are Pyrrha, what song did I sing to you on your birthday?" Nora demanded.

"...Happy Birthday." Pyrrha deadpanned.

Nora groaned. She was so sure that had been a difficult question. She then decided to get a bit more personal. "If you are Pyrrha," she said, "then repeat to me your number 1 fantasy since coming to Beacon Academy!"

Pyrrha turned bright red at this. Jaune looked at Pyrrha in confusion. Nora grinned triumphantly at this. She had this imposter right where she wanted her. "And just remember," she said, "you have to tell me word for word, or you're not the real Pyrrha."

Pyrrha took a look at the confused Jaune and then she took a deep breath. _Well, after that kiss, if Jaune doesn't know how I feel by now, then…_ Pyrrha shook her head at the sheer obliviousness of her former partner.

Pyrrha then began to tell her fantasy. "Marrying Jaune Arc under the stars, becoming Mrs. Pyrrha Arc, and having the same number of children Jaune's family had: eight. Preferably, I'd like seven girls and one boy that we can name Jaune Arc Jr."

Now it was Jaune's turn to turn red as he heard Pyrrha's number 1 fantasy. Nora's mouth dropped open in disbelief. Her eyes began to water. Then, the dam broke and Nora began to wail as she threw her arms around Pyrrha. "It is you!" Nora wailed. "Pyrrha, you're back! I missed you so much!"

"N-Nora…" Pyrrha said in surprise, unable to respond to Nora's emotional outburst.

Nora ignored Pyrrha's somewhat distressed and shocked state and continued to embrace her formerly deceased friend tightly. Jaune wanted to join in, but decided that he would much rather let Pyrrha have her moment. Meanwhile, Mary simply vanished as she was eliminated from the tournament.

"I really hope those three stop their moment soon." Qrow Branwen muttered. "There's basically a freaking war going on."

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby and Yang said in unison, horrified at Qrow's callous statement.

Qrow gazed at them both with a very deadpan expression on his face. "What, you two?" He demanded. "What are you so upset at me for? I'm right."

"And just like that, two more competitors go down." Daisuke noted.

"No surprise there, Nora Valkyrie is a physical powerhouse and that hammer is nothing to sneeze at. And Pyrrha Nikos is Mistral's undefeated champion." Kaji added. "May lost the minute Nora had her in her sights and she didn't notice. And Sekke lost the minute he pushed Pyrrha's 'Jaune Arc' button. She shouldn't have done that."

"How did Jaune never notice it when Pyrrha was alive?" Yang wondered to herself.

"As we get closer to the end of Block A's prelim round now, let's take a count of who's left." Kaji spoke up.

"With the eliminations of Sekke and Mary, along with Team ABRN's Arlsan Altan, ex-Baroque Works assassin Ms. Valentine, Pro Heroes Rock Lock and Snatch, and the Fishman Hatchan-who's past injuries had weakened him significantly-we are now down to 80 out of the original 120 that had begun." Daisuke explained.

"And with that, there are only sixteen competitors that need to be eliminated before we move on." Kaji revealed. "Can I just say, I am super happy that we've actually managed to move Block A along so quickly. Gives me a lot of hope that Block's B-D are going to be the same. There is nothing better than fast-paced action."

"So you say, but I very much prefer it when things are taken slow and steady." Daisuke admitted.

"Oh, I'm well aware of that. You're the only guy I know who actually enjoys watching a chess tournament." Kaji snarked.

"...I'm going to ignore that very unnecessary jab at my tastes in entertainment and move on." Daisuke said calmly. "Just as Kaji said, we only have to eliminate 16 more fighters before we can move onto Block B, and the 64 remaining fighters of Block A get to move onto the single-elimination rounds."

"And it looks like we're about to see that number decrease once more!" Kaji giddily declared. "Folks, if you care to take a looksie, I encourage you to turn your screens over to Cardin Winchester, who's locked in a struggle against two Shinobi of the Hidden Sound Village."

"And when I say it's a struggle, I mean it." Kaji continued. "Because the former leader of Team CRDL ain't doing so well."

Indeed, Cardin Winchester was struggling mightily against his two opponents. Cardin had honestly believed that the two fourteen year-olds would be easy targets. The man was a bully after all. And bullies went after weak targets. However, what Cardin had failed to realize was that they were in this tournament for a reason. That mistake was about to cost him.

Cardin yelled in pain as he was blasted off his feet and onto his back. Zaku Abumi and Kin Tsuchi both laughed as Zaku lowered his arm. "You can definitely take a hit, but you can't dish it out." Zaku taunted. "I guess that mace of yours is just for show."

"Piss off…" Cardin growled, getting to his feat.

"Do you really think you're in any position to be talking like that?" Kin asked curiously. "We're the ones kicking your ass right now. You're just coming off as a kid throwing a temper tantrum 'cause he's not getting any candy."

Zaku frowned slightly. Truth be told, Kin had not done anything. In fact, this ass kicking Cardin Winchester was getting was all him. Kin, as the resident Genjutsu user, had been useless. This was because Genjutsu, at its core was a technique that was created when a ninja controls the chakra flow of a target's cerebral nervous system, thereby affecting their five senses. And this guy had no chakra to take advantage of.

So, Zaku simply blasted Cardin repeatedly with his Slicing Sound Waves attack. The only help Kin had given was using her bells and senbon to distract Cardin. "I'm not done yet!" Cardin yelled. "I've been out of the spotlight for too damn long! Beacon was supposed to be my meal ticket, but that damn bitch, Cinder, ruined everything!"

Cardin gripped his mace tightly as he prepared to charge at Zaku and Kin once more, clearly uncaring of the fact that the past several times he had tried that, it did not go well at all. "No more!" Cardin yelled. "I'm getting to the top, damn it. And I'm not going to let two brats I should be stepping on stand in my way!"

Zaku scowled. "You stupid bastard, we're not just some brats." He pointed out. "We're Shinobi. We were trained to fight and kill before you started shaving."

Cardin yelled and tried to rush Zaku, only for the Sound Genin to raise both his hands in the air. "This may be a bit excessive, but you're starting to get on my damn nerves." He said. "The sooner we get that number down to 64, the better!"

"Supersonic Slicing Waves!" Zaku yelled, blasting Cardin with soundwaves with enough force that the labyrinth in the immediate area started to violently shake.

Cardin yelled in pain as he was sent flying away by Zaku's attack. His Aura was depleted to zero almost instantly as he was knocked onto his back and laid their, motionless. "If you get up after that, I'm actually going to be pissed." Zaku growled.

"He's not going to get up after that, Zaku." Kin promised before frowning. "But did you really think that was wise? You used one of your best Jutsus on that weakling?"

Zaku scowled at his partner. "Don't you judge me, Kin." He growled. "You haven't even done anything in this."

"Yeah, because I can't." Kin reminded him. "Genjutsu won't work without chakra."

Kin turned away. "Now come on," she said, "I want to find some other poor sap to crush. It's just as you said, Zaku, the sooner we take all these guys out, the sooner we all get to move onto the single elimination rounds."

Zaku watched as Kin began to walk away as a plan began to form in his head. It was just as she said: the sooner the better...and her Genjutsu only worked on those with chakra. "Right." He said, calmly raising a single arm in the air.

"Slicing Sound Waves!" Kin's eyes widened before being blasted in the back by Zaku's attack.

Kin gasped in pain before she was flung straight into a wall by Zaku's attack. "Zaku...what…" Kin groaned before slumping down, unconscious.

Zaku sighed. "I'm sorry, Kin." He said to his teammate. "But it's just as you said. Genjutsu only works when there is chakra to disrupt. You're dead weight until we come across someone who actually uses chakra. But I also can't afford to keep you around for the one-on-one fights. I can't risk you turning into a dark horse and ruining my chances."

"This is just me being smart. Sorry."

Zaku then frowned. "And as for you," he said, "I advise you not to skulk about in the shadows! Slicing Sound Waves!"

Zaku fired off his signature move, slicing a shadowy figure into pieces. Zaku narrowed his eyes. "Crap, a shadow clone?" He muttered.

Zaku's real opponent stepped into view at that moment, brandishing what appeared to be some sort of specially designed katana. "I guess someone who manipulates sound would have good hearing, huh." Blake Belladonna noted as her cat ears twitched. "But as for me, I heard all the crap you were pulling from a mile away."

"And you're right about one thing." Blake admitted. "The sooner we end this prelim round, the better. Time for me to do my part."

 **A.N: All this RWBY stuff is reminding me that I deleted my RT account last night. Apparently people's accounts are either getting followed or hacked by Bots that link to adult websites. Two of those bots followed me. I decided I had no intention of risking it, and I deleted my account. I never use it anyway, and I certainly don't mind waiting an extra week for a volume I'm not too stoked about. Just another example that a) it's up to us to stay safe on the world wide web, and b) if you're an organization, invest in decent internet security and remind your employees to be smart on the web.**

 **Anyway, my public service announcement is over. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Always nice to return to this because of how simple it is compared to everything else I do. It's a big part of why it's much shorter than the other works. That and I like making these what I believe would be an actual anime episode length.**


	19. Chapter 19: Big Announcement

Hello everyone. This message will most likely be overdue by the time I post this, but all the same, Merry Christmas. Obviously, this is not a chapter. Rather, it is an incredibly exciting announcement that I have been looking forward to sharing with you all.

After years of writing, editing, and rewriting, my very first original novel: **Age of Heroes: The Hero and the Disciple** , has been published onto Amazon's Kindle Store. Book 1 of what I hope to be a long and enjoyable series. It is a YA Fantasy novel that is basically my love letter to all the anime that had inspired me during my teen years.

It is the tale of two young men and their journeys. One, a meek blacksmith's apprentice lacking the confidence to chase his dream of heroism. The other, an eccentric hero who travels the land taking jobs for cheap wages.

The entire process was long, but extremely rewarding. And if you all have been enjoying my fanfiction, I think you will enjoy my first ever published, original work. The first of many, I hope.

You will find it if you search my pen name: Nicholas Drew, in the Kindle Store. For only $7.99, the book is yours, electronically. If you would prefer hard copies though, I'll be working on getting paperbacks printed as well.

It would mean the world to me if you would consider checking out and hopefully buying my book. Also, consider leaving positive reviews as well, via Amazon. Positive reviews help me gain more traction online, but any feedback as to where I can improve can be sent to this account via personal message.

I want to thank everyone for all the support they've given me over the years, whether it was through kind words or encouragement. I doubt I could've persevered without it. And of course, I also must give glory to God. Through Him, I was blessed with such a wonderful talent to use in His honor.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I look forward to seeing you all over at Amazon. Again, that is **Age of Heroes: The Hero and the Disciple, by Nicholas Drew** on the Amazon Kindle Store.


	20. Chapter 20: Sound of Silence

**A.N: So, first, a big announcement. Last month, I announced the publishing of my first original novel: Age of Heroes: The Hero and the Disciple, in eBook format. Well, I would also like to announce that for anyone who prefers a hard copy, hard copies are now being offered as well! So, if you've enjoyed my work here, I encourage you to check out my original material as well!**

 **I'll also be changing my pen name on this site to reflect my new status as a published author. From now on, when you're trying to find my profile, keep your eyes peeled for Author Nicholas Drew**

 **Okay...so this took longer than I thought. I'd say sorry, but honestly, writer's block is a pain and we all know that. Also, after dealing with Volume 7, I'm realizing just how crappy RWBY's power-scaling is, which is going to make writing any RWBY based fights a pain. All the same, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter because I think it turned out well in spite of everything.**

 **Chapter 19**

 **Sound of Silence**

 **Ninjas of Love and Hate**

Zaku Abumi hummed thoughtfully at the sight of Blake Belladonna. "Well damn," he said, "a cat girl? Now I've seen everything. Usually you see one of those in Master Jiraiya's Makeout Paradise: Cat Girls Edition."

Blake gave Zaku a weird look. "Makeout Paradise: Cat Girls Edition? That...there's no way of misconstruing that. It's smut. It's pure smut."

"Don't judge me." Zaku folded his arms. "Like you've never thought of it. Nothing pisses me off more than holier than thou chicks like you. Everyone gets the itch sometimes. No way in hell you haven't."

Blake blushed hotly at Zaku's crude behavior. "You sick bastard!" She yelled. "I'll have you know that I would never read anything along those lines!"

 _He must never know._ Blake thought to herself. _He must never know about Ninjas of Love. I've kept the contents of that book a secret for the longest time. The only one who could possibly know is Yang, and Yang sticks her nose in everything._

Indeed, Yang Xiao Long was watching Blake with a look of utter confusion on her face. "Is she serious?" Yang wondered. "I've seen the books she reads. She has no right to criticize that guy for reading...whatever the world Makeout Paradise: Cat Girls Edition is."

"Why...what's wrong with the books Blake reads?" Ruby Rose wondered. "I mean...they all just look like sappy romance novels. I mean, the _Man With Two Souls_? _Howling at the Moon_? No thanks. I'll take my cool comic books with all the action over that any day of the week."

Yang sighed. "Ruby," she said, "I'm so glad I've never had to police you about this kind of stuff. Other than...well, everything else, you were an easy little sister to raise."

 _And I'm glad you'll most likely never need it. You'll probably never find out that beneath her prim, proper, stoic behavior, Blake's a bigger perv than I am._ Yang deadpanned inwardly.

Blake brandished Gambol Shroud at Zaku. "Now that you've made things personal…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I've made things personal now?" Zaku looked at Blake in disbelief. "Wow, and here I thought I was gonna get punished for attacking my own comrade. But making things personal? Sheesh. You are something else. Are all the girls from your world as uptight as you are? I pity the poor bastards that are stuck with you lot if that is the case."

"No, we just have enough self-respect not to read degrading smut!" Blake shot back. Still very red in the face due to embarrassment and how much of a big fat lie that actually was. "Why would I be upset you blasted your own comrade when you just thinned out the competition you fool? Besides, questioning my honor and self-restraint is a far bigger sin! What, you think that I'm nothing more than a beast in heat?!"

"Not what I said, but whatever." Zaku sighed. "Okay, we're done here. You need to shut up before my ears start to bleed from all your preaching."

"Here we go! Slicing Sound Waves!" Zaku yelled, firing his signature attack at Blake.

Blake easily avoided the 'slicing' portion of Zaku's soundwave attacks. However, as she was surrounded by the 'force' of Zaku's attacks, her ears suddenly began twitching uncontrollably. Blake instinctively let out a scream of pain as she fell to her knees. "What...what the…" she grit her teeth in pain.

Even Zaku was surprised by what had happened. "Wait...what?" He looked at Blake in surprise. "You dodged the attack...and you're still hurting? That doesn't sound right…"

Zaku then noticed Blake's cat ears twitching and laughed. "No way!" He immediately realized what was happening. "No way! No way! No. Freaking. Way! Those things act like actual cat ears? As in, they're super sensitive to sound? Oh my God! That's too damn funny!"

"Blake!" Yang and Ruby yelled in concern.

"Seriously?" Qrow grit his teeth in frustration. "Of all the matchups Blake could've gotten, she gets in a fight with the one guy who can exploit the fact she's a Faunus?"

"Wait...I don't get it," elsewhere, Naruto Uzumaki was watching the fight with the familiar Sound Genin in confusion, "why's the cat girl struggling with this guy?"

"Naruto," Sakura Haruno spoke up, "her ears are real! As in, she's a cat girl! If those ears are real, there's no doubt they're as sensitive to sound as actual cat ears are. That means, high-powered sound attacks like that Sound Genin's attacks are especially effective against her!"

Sasuke Uchiha hummed in acknowledgement. "Seems so long ago when that guy was actually a threat to us." He mused. "And yet, he's actually a major threat against whoever this cat ninja is."

"Really?" Naruto was shocked at this. "Oh man, that sucks! Those sound attacks were disorienting enough as is! Like what that mummy guy did to Choji back in the Chunin exams! But if her cat ears are sensitive to sound attacks, he's got the upper hand, even though she's got him beat in everything else!"

Back in the labyrinth, Zaku continued to laugh at his newfound advantage. "Damn," Blake groaned as the horrific ringing in her ears finally came to an end, "damn, that hurt. That hurt so badly."

"Just one blast from my Slicing Sound Waves and you're already reeling? Oh man, and to think you charged me with the intent to win the fight, too. You were confident you were going to win because you approached me!" Zaku cackled. "Man, you must feel so stupid right now!"

"Oh shut up," Blake growled, "just because you hit me once, doesn't change anything."

Zaku grinned. "Want to stress test that?" He taunted. "I'm game. Let's freaking do this!"

"Slicing Sound Waves!" Zaku yelled once more, blasting Blake once more with his signature attack.

This time, the Slicing Sound Waves hit Blake, seemingly slicing her in half. Zaku's eyes widened, thinking he had accidentally killed her in a tournament where killing was not allowed. Then, Blake's body faded into the shadows. "Gah, seriously, a shadow clone? No, there was no Chakra? Oh hell! You mean to tell me that people outside of my world can use techniques similar to the Shadow Clone Jutsu?"

Zaku grit his teeth in frustration. "Ah, son of a bitch." He cursed. "I don't have any decent sensory abilities either. My attacks are purely destructive. If I had Dosu with me, I could at least figure out where the bitch went. Then again, Dosu would probably have my ass for shooting Kin in the back with my soundwaves."

Elsewhere, Blake Belladonna panted slightly, hidden behind a labyrinth wall. She could still feel the ringing in her ears slightly. Her body tensed and winced with every single ring. "Damn," she muttered, "damn…"

"It hurts, it hurts so badly." Blake continued. "Damn, Aura or not, it doesn't change the fact my faunus ears are still incredibly sensitive."

"Okay, how can I fight him then?" Blake wondered. "The sooner we eliminate the required amount of competitors, the sooner everyone who's left can move onto the elimination rounds. That is the number one priority."

"And besides, my friends are watching." Blake noted. "Around them...I can't afford to look bad. Not after all we've done to reunite...after I abandoned them...I'm not going to be left behind by them in this tournament. Not after all of that."

"So...I need a new plan."

Meanwhile Zaku grinned as an idea came to him. "Well then," he said, "if this is how it's going to be, I guess I'm just going to have to flush you out my way. Why the hell should I use Dosu's way of flushing people like you out? I'm me, after all!"

"Slicing Sound Wave!" Zaku yelled as he began firing powerful soundwaves at random, blasting nearby areas on the off-chance he would draw out Blake to finish her.

Blake winced. Even though she had managed to put a good distance between herself and Zaku, she could still feel the force of his soundwaves, ringing in her Faunus ears. _Damn,_ Blake thought to herself, _this is going to be difficult...and my ears are probably going to ring for days after this. However, my resolve is still set. I'm going to win against this opponent. I'm going to defeat this man, and I'm going to move onto the elimination rounds...where my friends will no doubt join me._

Blake readied Gambol Shroud. _I'm at least at a decent distance where even though the attack still makes my ears ring and wince, I can at least move and continue fighting. So, that means as long as I block out the pain...I can fight at a range._

"Where are you?!" Zaku yelled. "Get your ass out here and fight me, pussycat!"

Blake then appeared behind the Sound Genin, revealing that in the chaos, she had retreated behind Zaku. Zaku looked over his shoulder and frowned. "So this is where you were?" He noted. "Well, I'm glad you've shown yourself! Now I can end this!"

Blake then pointed Gambol Shroud at Zaku, having switched it to its long-ranged machine gun form. "The one who's going to end this will be me!" Blake declared. "If you are some kind of ninja, then I doubt your familiar with what guns can do, right?"

"Huh?" Zaku looked at Blake in confusion.

"Take this!" Blake yelled, pulling Gambol Shroud's trigger.

Zaku watched as a volley of bullets flew towards him. "So that's what guns can do?" He raised an eyebrow. "Fire...tiny little pellets?"

Then, much to Zaku's surprise, the bullets suddenly burst into flames. They were laced with fire dust. "Oh hell!" Zaku yelled, desperately weaving in and out of the flame bullets.

Blake nodded in understanding. The people from other worlds are extremely fast. She had to acknowledge that, after seeing someone like Zaku dodge her bullets. However, the flames were there for that very moment. To widen the range of her bullets and try to land a blow on Zaku.

However, Zaku was not done yet either. If regular slicing sound waves were not going to cut it, he simply had to increase the sheer force of his mighty attack. "Not like this...like hell I'm going to lose to a stupid cat like you!" He yelled.

Zaku aimed both of his hands at Blake. "I'll blow you away this time!" He vowed. "Supersonic Slicing Waves!"

And with that, Zaku fired a far more powerful version of the Supersonic Slicing Waves. Blake watched in shock as the sheer force of Zaku's shockwaves actually put out the flames coating her bullets.

Blake gasped. _I miscalculated!_ She realized. _Of course he would have a stronger version of his signature move._

"You're going down!" Zaku yelled.

 _This is still going to hurt like hell, but I can at least defend myself from the brunt of the blast._ Blake noted, switching cartridges in Gambol Shroud and creating a clone made of earth dust. The earth clone braced itself as Blake hid behind the clone. She also instinctively plugged her cat ears, desperate to at least drown out some of the awful ringing that would follow. Above all else, she could not allow her eardrums to burst from the blast.

 _It hurts…_ She winced as the blast tore up the area around her, though she herself managed to remain unharmed thanks to her earth clone taking the brunt of it. However, it felt like daggers were stabbing into her ears. She absolutely hated this sensation. The pain. All of it.

But she was going to endure it. She had already vowed to reach the top with her friends. She could not break that promise now. Not after she had just reunited with them.

Zaku was then forced to tone down his Supersonic Slicing Waves. He could not overdo it, otherwise he would risk blowing his arms up again. The intense pain he had been in after his fight with Shino Aburame had done a number on his courage. He did not want to go through that pain again. He had to let up.

 _I'll cool down for a bit and blast her again._ Zaku decided.

Blake found herself able to safely recover from Zaku's blast. At that moment, she decided to strike. She turned her attention to Zaku's arms, the source of her issues. _I've got just the thing to put a stop to him._

Blake moved slightly off to the side and transformed Gambol Shroud into its Kusarigama form. "Take this!" She yelled, throwing Gambol Shroud at Zaku.

Zaku instinctively leaned to the side, thinking Blake was trying to impale his center of mass. However, much to his horror, he quickly discovered that was not where Blake had been aiming. He watched in surprise as Gambol Shroud wrapped around his left arm. "Oh crap!" He yelled, as Blake yanked on Gambol Shroud.

Zaku yelped in surprise as he stumbled forward from the force of Blake pulling on Gambol Shroud. Blake then propelled herself towards Zaku. She unwrapped Gambol Shroud from his arm and quickly switched it to long-ranged mood. She swapped out clips and took aim. She quickly pulled the trigger and fired.

Zaku gasped as the bullets flew towards him. He was still off balance from Blake's last move, so he could not dodge like he did before. "Crap!" He yelled, instinctively raising his arms to try and block the bullets...not the smartest idea, but what can you do when you are a guy who doesn't know about the dangers of bullets.

When the bullets collided with his arms, however, Zaku was shocked to discover them actually freeze the gauntlets on his arms upon contact. "What the hell? Ice too?" Zaku was stunned at this.

"You clearly don't know anything about versatile fighting styles." Blake noted. "In my world, fighting in a versatile manner is the only way anyone can ever hope to survive. Otherwise, you'd be devoured by literal devils."

"The hell." Zaku muttered. "The hell kind of world is that?"

"A world of bloody evolution." Blake responded. "One that I've trained to advance and surpass from the get-go. One that I almost lost to because I've my own cowardice."

Blake rushed Zaku. Zaku tried to call on his sound techniques, only to discover the ice was blocking the holes in his gauntlets. "But no more!" Blake yelled. "From now on, I only advance. I'm going to keep moving forward with my friends!"

"And win this tournament!" Blake yelled, slashing Zaku vertically.

"GYAGH!" Zaku yelled as the momentum of the attack launched him airborne.

"And afterwards," Blake sped to a stop, sheathing Gambol Shroud, "I'm going to go back and conquer that world of bloody evolution."

Zaku landed on his back, groaning in pain. "Son of a bitch...I can't...lose like this. I was gonna...gonna…"

Zaku groaned once more before falling unconscious. "Not...fair…"

Blake heaved a sigh of relief. "Good," she said, "if that had gone on any longer, I don't know how much I could've stood up against those soundwave attacks of his. Moments like these are when being a Faunus is more trouble than it's worth."

"Zaku Abumi is no longer able to continue and is now eliminated from the tournament." Came Haika's voice.

Zaku's body then vanished. Blake found herself slumping against the wall. "I should probably rest up just a bit." She decided. "If I had to guess, I'd say we're pretty close to the end."

Just as Blake said that she heard Kaji and Daisuke speak up. And it confirmed her suspicions. "With Zaku dropping out, that means the numbers just keep dropping." Kaji grinned. "Bandages the Mummy, See-Through the Invisible Man, Inoichi Yamanaka, Ms. Goldenweek, and Pell of Alabasta. All have done their best but unfortunately it just didn't cut it in the end."

"And with all of those eliminations, that means we are drawing closer to the end of Block A's preliminary round." Daisuke revealed. "We started this prelim match with 120 possible competitors for the Urban Tier's elimination rounds. And now, we only have eight more people to cut from the block before we move on."

"Pay close attention to these final matches that decide the final spots, ladies and gentlemen. Because things are about to get even wilder!"

Blake sighed. "Yeah, well, that's it for me." She said. "I'm going to just keep...resting in the shadows here. That guy was incredibly weak...probably nowhere near at the top of this tier. But I still ran into so much trouble against him. I can't afford to pick any fights from here on out. Best to just rest up in the shadows."

From the stands, Naruto Uzumaki could not help but whistle in appreciation at Blake's victory. "Not bad, she really pulled it off." He acknowledged. "She won in spite of being at such a bad disadvantage."

"Yeah, she showed a lot of grit." Sakura Haruno nodded in agreement.

"...That reminds me, I never did get around to picking up Master Jiraiya's Catgirl Edition of Makeout Paradise." Kakashi Hatake noted to himself. "Catgirls didn't really seem like my cup of tea...though if they look half as gorgeous as that girl, I suppose I can give it a try."

"Stupid perverted Kakashi Sensei." Naruto and Sakura gazed at their Jonin-Sensei like he was a colossal disappointment.

"Still, it's too bad Ino's dad didn't make it." Sakura sighed. "I wish we realized sooner he'd be here. We should've been cheering him on."

"Yeah, it's gotta be tough on Ino knowing that her dad lost. Hopefully they get to at least chat a bit before this is over." Naruto added.

"Why don't we find Ino and see how she's doing?" Sakura suggested, making Naruto nod.

Elsewhere, Yang and Ruby both cheered for Blake's victory. "Way to go partner!" Yang cheered.

"You showed 'em, Blake!" Ruby added.

"So the kitty cat pulled it off, good for her." Qrow nodded. "Still, she's reeling from that guy's sound attacks. If she is planning on resting up and waiting out the rest of the prelims, she needs to really do a good job staying out of sight. It's just like that Kaji guy said, things are about to get even wilder."

"Eh? Why's that, Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked.

"Think about it, kid." Qrow narrowed his eyes. "There are eight more people that have to be eliminated now."

"By now, people are starting to get tired from how drawn out this prelim is." Qrow continued. "That means, people will no doubt be getting more aggressive to try and end this prelim sooner."

"The final matches to decide who moves on and who doesn't...they'll happen sooner than you may realize." Qrow concluded.


End file.
